1760 Voce Populi Halfpenny. Nelson-16, Zelinka 8-C, W-13820. Rarity-7. Square Head. Fine-15 (PCGS).119.8 grains. After the unique Nelson-17, the Nelson-16 is the key to the Voce Populi halfpence, with just seven specimens reportedly known. In his 1976 article on the Voce Populi halfpence, Zelinka reported that "The last four varieties (Nelson 13, 14, 15 and 16) have been identified by Robert Vlack in recent years and were allotted additional Nelson numbers." The probable discovery specimen was offered as part of our sale of the Ted L. Craige Collection in our November 2012 Baltimore/C4 Auction. The Nelson-16 die marriage is the union of the obverse of Nelson-7 with the reverse of Nelson-9, with the reverse die sunken and failing in the left field, which probably explains why this variety is so rare today. Craige had indicated on his collection envelope that this new variety was the obverse of N-7, 6, and 6-A and the reverse of Nelson-9. He (and Bob Vlack) had lumped the obverses of Nelson-6 and 7 together, as they are quite similar yet decidedly different. Adding to the confusion, Zelinka himself incorrectly assigned Nelson-16 as the obverse of Nelson-6 (Zelinka obverse 5) and the reverse of Nelson-9 (Zelinka reverse C); we have here corrected the Zelinka die marriage to 8-C from the incorrect 5-C we used when we sold the Craige coin in 2012. <p>Nelson-16 was missing from all significant 20th century collections of the Voce series, including Ryder-Boyd-Ford, Norweb, Zelinka (Taylor sale), and many others. This will be the fourth specimen to come to market in the last 23 years, with the Whytes (2000)-McGrath (2007) piece offered twice, followed by the Bud Bibbins (2008) and Craige (2012) specimens. Each has variably been called finest known or tied for finest known in their respective auction appearances, and the truth is that parsing out a condition census would be hard without comparing the physical coins side by side. This example is quite well struck for the variety, with just a trivial softness at the obverses dead center. Its surfaces are light iridescent brown with just a hint of porosity in the left obverse field and adjacent to Hibernias upper knee on the reverse. A straight clip at rim around 6 oclock on the obverse hallmarks this specimen for future pedigree verification. As with the McGrath coin, and possibly others, the dies are rotated from coin turn, in this case oriented at about 90 degrees. McGraths, called "Fine-18" is probably the sharpest known, but its surfaces are a bit rough, while the Bibbins coin called VF-25 is perhaps a bit less sharp but with choicer surfaces that show some of the rough undercoin where the strike was a bit weak. The Craige coin, called Fine-15, is perhaps the choicest, with smooth light brown surfaces, but is a bit softly struck with a single carbon spot on the reverse. Syds very agreeable specimen, scooped up off eBay, is no slouch and would compete fiercely with any of the three described above. Over a decade has passed since the last public auction appearance of a Nelson-16, so those desirous of completion, like Syd, should not miss this important opportunity.<p>.PCGS# 924122. NGC ID: 2AUC.<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 Sol Schaffer via eBay, July 2002.
