1724 1/2P Hibernia - Date Below

Coin Details

Auction Record

$27,600 CH PR 01-01-2005 Stack's

Description

This 1724 Wood's Hibernia Halfpenny features the "Date Below" variety, where the date 1724 is positioned below the seated figure of Hibernia on the reverse rather than in the more typical position within the legend. This placement creates a distinctly different reverse layout from the standard arrangement and makes this variety immediately identifiable. The obverse shows the laureate bust of George I facing right with the royal legend, while the reverse displays the seated Hibernia with her harp and the HIBERNIA inscription, with 1724 placed in the exergue below the main design. Positioning the date below the main design was a standard reverse layout option in eighteenth-century coin design, borrowed from the exergual dating used on larger silver and gold coins. Its use on the small copper halfpenny gives this variety a more formal, structured appearance than versions where the date is integrated into the circumferential legend. The 1724 date has special historical significance as the year of Swift's "Drapier's Letters" and the effective end of Wood's Hibernia venture. The Date Below variety represents one of the final die preparations for the series and was among the last coins struck before production was halted under political pressure. The coin is struck in copper at approximately 28mm diameter and was redirected from Ireland to the American colonies after the patent's revocation.

Rarity Notes

Rare. The Date Below variety is one of the distinctive 1724 die types and is scarcer than the standard arrangement.

Cross References

PCGS #197; NGC #51657; Breen; Nelson; cf. PCGS #190 (standard 1724), PCGS #45379 (DEI above Head)