"1733" Twopence Rosa Americana Silver Robinson Copy

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,560 MS64 11-30-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

This silver reproduction of the 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence is the most desirable of the three metals in which Robinson struck his circa 1861 copies of this colonial denomination. Silver Robinson Copies were produced in smaller quantities than their brass and copper counterparts, reflecting both the higher material cost and the premium market they targeted among serious collectors of the era. The obverse replicates the laureate bust of George I with the legend GEORGIVS D:G: MAG: BRI: FRA: ET: HIB: REX, while the reverse displays the crowned Tudor rose accompanied by ROSA AMERICANA VTILE DVLCI. The silver composition makes these pieces immediately distinguishable from genuine Rosa Americana coins, which were never officially struck in silver under William Wood's patent. This metal choice was purely a novelty for collectors rather than any attempt at deception. The original Rosa Americana series, authorized by George I in 1722, used Bath metal exclusively for circulation coinage, though pattern strikings in silver and gold are known to exist from the original era. Robinson's silver copies thus occupy an interesting niche: they are reproductions in a metal that the originals were never issued in for circulation, yet they have become collectible artifacts in their own right, documenting the early history of American numismatic collecting.

Rarity Notes

Rare. The silver examples are the scarcest of the three Robinson Copy metals and command the highest premium among the set. Significantly fewer were produced than the brass or copper versions.

Cross References

PCGS #889787; Robinson Copy series; cf. original 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence PCGS #143