1771 Contemporary Imitation Halfpenny. George III Irish Type of 1775-1782. Choice Fine.86.6 grains. A glossy and smooth, chestnut brown coin with a subtle woodgrain effect on the lower half of the reverse. Obverse perfectly centered, reverse centered toward 6 oclock, the misalignment leaving a crescent of unstruck metal at the top and leaving the lower extremities of the date off the flan. No genuine Irish halfpence dated 1771 were struck, making this one of the invented dates in the Irish counterfeit series and a date that Clem Schettino, a former owner of this coin and a specialist in the series, called extremely rare on his envelope.From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Clem Schettino, 2012.
