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1771 1771' 1/2P Machin's Mills Half Penny

Strike Type
1771 Colonials coin

Coin Details

Year
1771
Denomination
Colonials
Strike Type
Regular Strike
Series
Post-1776 Private and Regional Issues (1778-1820)
Composition
Copper
Weight
7.5g
Diameter
28mm
Edge
Plain

Description

Despite bearing the date 1771, this copper halfpenny was actually struck circa 1787-1790 at Thomas Machin's private mint near Newburgh, New York, as a lightweight imitation of the British George III halfpenny. Thomas Machin, an engineer for the Continental Army who had built fortifications in the Highlands and laid the chain across the Hudson at West Point, set up a works on Machin's Pond near Newburgh, New York, that Crosby says opened in 1787 with coining copper as its main purpose; its machinery was taken out in 1792, and its work was done in secret. The pieces on these pages imitate the British halfpenny of George III with dates from 1747 to 1788, and NGC files them as Machin's Mills and related pieces; Vlack's die numbers are the standard reference. PCGS lists it as #448.

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