1776 Contemporary Counterfeit Halfpenny Muling. George III Irish Type of 1766. About Very Fine.105.4 grains. Dies oriented at about 270 degrees. Light golden brown and generally smooth but for a few marks of general circulation. Little central detail exists on this crudely made coin, as intended and as made by the counterfeiter, a combination of detail-less dies and a shallow strike. Both sides struck a bit off-center on a flan that was probably too small for the designs, resulting in only a few letters of the legends fully visible on each side. The round head and fish lips on George are more reminiscent of the halfpence of 1766, this obverse muled with a reverse dated 1776, which should have been mated with an obverse bust of George with flowing tresses below the truncation. The date itself is fascinating, the final digit made not of actual strokes but of 7 small dots that were probably guide marks for the cutting of that final date digit. Similar guide marks can be seen along the remaining harp strings. Here is a fantastic crude counterfeit from hand cut dies that is unique according to the consignors notes.
