Undated (1717) Pre-Patent Pattern Rosa Americana Penny. Martin 1-B, W-1204. Rarity-7-. With Branches. Specimen. Fine Details--Damage (PCGS). 78.2 grains. William Wood of Wolverhampton in Staffordshire began to experiment with proposed base metal coinages as early as 1717. In that year, Wood produced a series of undated pattern halfpence, pence, and twopence out of a copper zinc alloy called "Bath metal" of his own devising that was also to include a minuscule amount of silver. Featuring a laureate bust of George I facing right on the obverse and a crown denomination indicator on the reverse, the patterns were half the size of the regular English copper coins then in circulation. Likely used as samples in order to obtain a Royal Patent to produce a series of coins intended to alleviate the chronic coin shortages in the American colonies, the pre-patent patterns are quite rare as a class; only 12 examples of the Martin 1-B penny variety offered here are traced. The patterns appear to have served their function: in 1722 Wood received a contract to strike 100 tons of coins in several denominations out of Bath metal. These coins, the Rosa Americana coinage, have become mainstays in collections of early colonial American coins. While not strictly colonial American coins, the pre-patent coins of 1717 are avidly collected alongside the better known Rosa Americana pieces and remain a vital part of the Wood story. PCGS# 905763. NGC ID: E6C2. <strong>To view supplemental information and all items from the Sydney F. Martin Collection, click<a href="https://stacksbowers.com/sydney-f-martin-collection/"target=’_blank’> here.</a></strong> From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Tom Rinaldo, April 1996.
