"1733" (Ca.1861) Twopence Rosa Americana Brass Robinson Copy

Coin Details

Auction Record

$336 MS65 11-30-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

This is a brass reproduction of the 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence, manufactured circa 1861 by the Robinson family of engravers and diesinkers. Robinson Copies were created during the mid-nineteenth century as collectible novelties for the growing American numismatic market, which had developed a strong appetite for colonial-era coins that were by then scarce and expensive in original form. The obverse reproduces the laureate bust of George I facing right with the legend GEORGIVS D:G: MAG: BRI: FRA: ET: HIB: REX, while the reverse displays the crowned Tudor rose with ROSA AMERICANA VTILE DVLCI. Struck in brass (a copper-zinc alloy), this copy is noticeably different in color and weight from the original Bath metal pieces produced under William Wood's 1722 patent. The dies were competently cut but show subtle differences from the originals in letter spacing, portrait detail, and rose design that experienced collectors can identify. Robinson also produced copies in copper and silver, creating a small suite of reproductions across multiple metals. While these pieces were once dismissed as mere counterfeits, they have gained recognition as legitimate numismatic artifacts of the Civil War era collecting boom. They trade at a fraction of the cost of genuine Rosa Americana coins but are collected in their own right as examples of early American numismatic reproduction.

Rarity Notes

Scarce but available. Valued primarily as a collectible reproduction rather than as an original colonial issue. Brass examples are the most common of the three Robinson metals.

Cross References

PCGS #889785; Robinson Copy series; cf. original 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence PCGS #143