1773 Virginia Penny - Proof

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

The so-called 1773 Virginia penny is a proof halfpenny from Newman's 1-A dies, struck on a heavier and broader planchet than the regular coins. A royal warrant of May 20, 1773 allowed up to twenty-five tons of copper halfpence for Virginia to be struck at the Tower Mint, 60 to the pound, and Eric Newman described them as the only fully authorized coinage made for any of the colonies that became the United States. About five tons, some 672,000 halfpence, reached Virginia in February 1774, but the treasurer held them until a royal proclamation of November 16, 1774 allowed them to circulate. Newman sorted the obverses by whether a period follows GEORGIVS and the reverses by the number of harp strings. Newman found that the pieces from his 1-A dies have a proof surface, weigh about 135 grains (52 to the pound) and measure 1 1/8 inches across, against 116.7 grains for the regular coins, and he took them for trials made with the first die pair. Cataloged as PCGS #246.

Cross References

Newman 1-A