A crown is on the countermark on the obverse below the bust. The countermark in the upright corner indicates with a letter “B” that the coin was to be a 1/2 Penny. Below the bust is the letter “C” that points to Soho Mint. Under the letter “C” on the rock is the date “1807.” No other George III’s coins bear the Soho initials. Usually, the Soho mint marked its cast tokens with the solid diamond stand that appeared in the design, while the official coins minted in Birmingham had the mint mark on the edge.
The countermarks on the reverse represent small rectangular pieces that form the image of GBR 076, the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics code of the United Kingdom, according to ISO:3166-2. The countermarks on three hundred sixty-three 1/2 Penny Copper Pieces could be “BR” or “BB.”
The history of coinage in Great Britain can be traced back to antiquity, but Great Britain’s most sacred coin is the 1/2 Penny Copper Piece of 1807. This historically significant 1/2 Penny copper piece has on its obverse the beautiful laureated bust of George III in Roman-style drapery facing right. The bust is signed “COLONEL D.” on the truncation and by the legend “GEORGIUS III – DEI GRATIA.” A series of initial marks can be found in the field on the obverse, used to indicate different parts of the process. The bronze countermarks on the 1/2 Penny Copper Piece after the coin.
Historical Context and Production of the Coin
After decades of debate and disagreement, economic historians have settled on a modest synthesis of generally accepted characteristics of the early British industrial revolution. This compact statement is highly controversial and has occasioned extensive discussion, but some consensus has been made.
Recently, this relative stability has been by the radical positions adopted in the “new” growth theory, the reversion to the traditional history of subsequent secondary sources, and the shortcomings of regressive rather than longitudinal models of industrial growth change. The growing discomfort and questioning dynamism within the field of economic history stem from four fundamental sources:
- Glaring and persistent gaps in the evidence
- Ignorance of the detailed workings of historical economies and societies
- The interplay between past societies and our contemporary experiences, concerns, and fears
- The chosen and methodological tools available to practitioners of the craft
Copper coinage was crucial for the proper functioning of 19th-century market economies, and the withdrawal of this currency as an official financial instrument was a significant aspect of national economic change.
The early industrializing country of Great Britain had developed rapidly during the 18th century, and this significant economic growth, along with new technological and financial arrangements, challenged the traditional economy based on subsistence farming and agriculture. The evolution of a modern mixed economy led to an intensification of specialization and increased the daily interaction between towns and their immediate and distant hinterlands.
The possibility of rapid social and economic change caused by technological innovation and commercial expansion provoked unease, controversy, and enthusiasm among contemporary commentators. The difficulties and uncertainties surrounding the definition of economic growth were acutely felt during the early 19th century when economic data collection assumed increasing importance and when influential theorists searched in vain for summary measures of ecological and economic change.
Complex conceptual, empirical, and classification issues and inherent sampling problems resulted in contradictory or inconsistent interpretations of British industrial change.
Design and Symbolism of the 1/2 Penny Copper Piece
The study of cinching design and metal symbols aids in understanding ancient and medieval coins. “(Hermon) had assigned the coinage to various classes such as gold, silver, and copper, and he had sub-dived these again according to weight and bigness. These presented on one side a representation of a cock or an ox and on the other, an intaglio chamfered within.
After the United States Mint’s rejection, newspapers in Baltimore and Philadelphia began to advertise Washington and other Medals as the “finest half-cents in the country.” Gold-plate Counter and Early U.S. Gold Coinsigator; and the other intaglio. Coins with this diameter suffering from the ancient disease of die-and-curve lapping mule, with 1/2 cent reverse and 1 cent obverse, are usually numismatic showstoppers. These intriguing pieces should always use a notation explaining this rare combination.
The terminology cincing or striping, together with images of an arched-contoured strip around or along the edge of a coin, suggests a designed appearance. As it is reasonable to regard these, and other machines of the period, as capable of replacing an abusive edge cordon, large or small, or a nice-looking one, I will refer to the treated edges of coins from such machines as cincture.
The reverse design, edge details, diameters, and dies utilized in striking these pieces suggest that they are patterns and for Pitts’ 1/2 penny Slough arched-edge tokens to fit the edge cincing of the time. Making a ‘reverse’ punch is as tricky as creating a ‘form,’ but serious consideration of the concept in this paper. A reference section follows, designed to be particularly helpful to those researching 18th and early 19th-century merchants and tradespeople.
Beginning about 1300, the copper cent or its equivalent prevented the remission or recoinage of any amount of small coin unless a substantial part of such sum was done in copper coin clarity, which is now more or less uncertain. Seventeenth and eighteenth-century writers appear first to use the word cincture, as is the case for some early George III issues. In this paper, I will use the term cincture synonymously with cincing.
Collecting and Valuing the 1807 Great Britain 1/2 Penny Copper Piece
The 1807 British 1/2 penny is slightly larger than the regular U.S. large cent. Its denomination and comparative age, coupled with its acquisition potential, make it particularly attractive to the beginner or specialist, especially in light of the low contemporary American issue price.
In the mid-nineteenth century, when we virtually needed our copper pieces to keep small commerce moving, the British 1/2 penny served as a small change and was still quite acceptable. However, the situation in Great Britain was quite different, and the 1/2 penny was needed for the only use then available—in charity boxes.
The 1807 Great Britain 1/2 penny copper piece has general appeal among numismatists for various reasons, including its inherent merit of good, solid, scarce sense. Its place in American coinage history still generates further interest and appeal, as does its historical relation to the United States’ political development. In addition, its classic beauty, coupled with the simplicity of its design and composition, combine to create the natural charm so characteristic of prized collectibles. The fact that it is out of circulation benefits seekers of copper coins in that it generally becomes available for purchase at coin and stamp stores, where it brings much satisfaction to the collector who can make it his own.
Legacy and Importance of the Coin in Numismatics
It is difficult, therefore, to assign an absolute value to such a sale that incorporates all of these elements. The 1807 Great Britain Copper Penny cannot as having historical interest. As an artifact, and especially as a work of art, it shares with other great pieces of numismatics elements that combine to create a unique class of object with value in its many attributes.
The 1807 Great Britain Copper Penny represents more than simply a sale of a numismatically significant fastener or a souvenir from a historical time to which today’s owners have a personal attachment. Although disconnected in today’s use from their original formation in the Bridge of Lune Toll Gate project, with a workforce impressed by the Napoleonic Wars, these coins remain the most significant tangible representative history of that workforce’s labor.
The numismatic legacy they embody as works of art, promotional campaigns, chronicles of the early stages of the Industrial Revolution, and the impressive structure they construct further strengthen their case.
