1760 Farth Voce Populi - Small Letters

Coin Details

Auction Record

$26,400 MS63BN 10-30-2018 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1760 Voce Populi Farthing with Small Letters is distinguished from the Large Letters variety by its more delicately engraved legends, with smaller lettering used on both the obverse and reverse dies. The obverse features a laureate bust facing right, while the reverse shows the seated Hibernia with her harp and the VOCE POPULI legend rendered in the smaller letter style. The reduced letter size creates a different visual impression from the Large Letters type, with more open field space surrounding the design elements. The coin is struck in copper at the farthing size, making it one of the smaller colonial-era tokens. The Small Letters variety may represent a different die cutter's work or a deliberate stylistic choice to create a more refined-looking die. In eighteenth-century die production, the size of letterpunches used was a conscious decision that affected both the aesthetic quality and the legibility of the finished coin. Smaller letters could accommodate more text in limited die space but risked becoming illegible on worn examples. The Voce Populi farthings, in both letter sizes, are among the rarer items in the pre-Revolutionary colonial copper series. Their small size and low face value meant they were easily lost in commerce and infrequently preserved intentionally, contributing to their scarcity today. The Small Letters farthing is typically considered the scarcer of the two letter-size varieties, adding a premium beyond the already elevated base rarity of Voce Populi farthings in general.

Rarity Notes

Very rare. The Small Letters variety is generally considered scarcer than the Large Letters type. Voce Populi farthings in either variety are significantly rarer than the halfpennies.

Cross References

PCGS #259; NGC #108116; Breen; Nelson; cf. PCGS #256 (Large Letters), PCGS #262 (Halfpenny No P)