"1733" Twopence Rosa Americana Copper Robinson Copy

Coin Details

Auction Record

$660 MS64BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

This copper reproduction of the 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence was produced circa 1861 by Robinson, a diesinker active during the period when American numismatics was emerging as a serious collecting pursuit. As the Civil War disrupted daily life, interest in coins of America's colonial past surged, and original Rosa Americana pieces had become prohibitively expensive for most collectors. Robinson filled this gap by striking copies from newly engraved dies in copper, brass, and silver. The obverse features a laureate bust of George I facing right surrounded by the royal legend GEORGIVS D:G: MAG: BRI: FRA: ET: HIB: REX, while the reverse bears the crowned Tudor rose and the motto ROSA AMERICANA VTILE DVLCI ("American Rose, the useful with the pleasant"). The copper composition gives these pieces a distinctly different appearance from genuine Rosa Americana coins, which were struck in Bath metal, a proprietary brass-like alloy that William Wood used under his royal patent. The dies show competent workmanship but differ from originals in fine details of the portrait engraving and lettering. These Robinson Copies are now accepted as legitimate numismatic collectibles from the formative years of American coin collecting, and they provide an affordable entry point for collectors interested in the Rosa Americana series.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Copper is the second most common metal for Robinson Copies after brass. Condition census examples bring modest premiums.

Cross References

PCGS #889784; Robinson Copy series; cf. original 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence PCGS #143