Lot 2305
Great Britain. Proof silver Halfpenny, 1717. George I. Style of S-3659, the "Dump" issue (but Proofs not listed in Spink). Peck-771 (listed as "very rare"). 27 mm diameter. Inverted die alignment. The first two years of the new copper halfpenny coinage, 1717 and 1718, comprised the very first of the modern-style planchets, or flans, which provided a more uniform appearance. Mint master Isaac Newton had caused much delay in earlier attempts to bring forth a uniform copper coinage, seeking a high level of copper "purity" as he called it, than had previously been possible: coppers of earlier reigns had a variety of troubles and additions, from heavy black streaks to plugs meant to increase intrinsic value, but none had proven satisfactory as a circulating medium. Newton must have been proud of these new coins, which because they were on small, thick flans (which changed by 1719) have been called "dump issues" by generations of numismatists. A beauty of a coin! Bright silvery gray surfaces, with an incredibly bold impression of the dies (remember, this was made in 1717, more than 70 years before Boulton and Watt's steam-press coins). The outer circle on each side is deeply struck, each surrounded by a gigantic row of long denticles reaching to the coin's edge. Some reflectivity remains in the fields, producing a captivating eye-appeal! A major rarity in this condition, probably the finest known. NGC graded Proof 64.
Estimated Value $3,600 - 4,000.
The Cheshire Collection.
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