1786 1/2P Immunis Columbia - Eagle Reverse Half Penny

Coin Details

Description

Cataloged as Crosby 14-Y and Whitman 5715, this 1786 copper half penny represents one of the most significant mulings in early American numismatics — combining the IMMUNIS COLUMBIA obverse (featuring a seated figure of Columbia) with an eagle reverse die that was also used for the Nova Constellatio coppers. The IMMUNIS COLUMBIA legend ("Immune Columbia" or "Free America") reflects the political aspirations of the newly independent nation, and the pairing of this obverse with the eagle reverse from a different series provides direct evidence of die sharing among the various experimental coinage programs of the mid-1780s. Struck in copper, the coin weighs approximately 7 grams with a 28 mm diameter and plain edge. Cataloged as PCGS #858. The rarity notes describe this as very rare and a significant muling between two experimental series — both the Immunis Columbia and Nova Constellatio coinages were produced during the period when Congress and private entrepreneurs were experimenting with designs and standards for a national coinage, years before the Mint Act of 1792 established the federal Mint. The sharing of dies between these two programs suggests they were produced by the same contractor or at least had access to each other's die inventory. Collectors of Proposed National Issues prize this variety as tangible evidence of the interconnected, ad hoc nature of pre-federal coinage production, where die combinations crossed series boundaries in ways that would be unthinkable under the standardized operations of the later U.S. Mint.

Rarity Notes

Very rare. A significant muling between two experimental series.

Cross References

Crosby 14-Y; Whitman 5715