1776 Machins Mills Halfpenny. Vlack 6-76A, W-7790. Rarity-4. GEORGIVS III, Group I, Large Date. EF-45 (PCGS).121.6 grains. Our 2010 description of this coin suffices even a decade later: "Comparable in many ways to the lovely EF-45 we sold in our 2009 New York Americana Sale for $3,450, this specimen is different in that the state of the dies is early rather than late. The freshness of the dies combined with the high grade have preserved luster flow lines at the peripheries of both sides in addition to the fine marks in the fields that disappear with wear but are here clearly visible, like the shallow die scratch off the lower knob of the bow and the short die mark in the O of GEORGIVS. The surfaces are deep iridescent brown with ruddy, golden highlights in the obverse fields where the original mint color was last to fade. Obverse effigy is poorly detailed, as always, while seated Britannia is better defined than usual, with striking weakness confined to her legs and the globe upon which she rests. A very short scuff below Georges bust is noted for accuracy and does not at all attract attention. A superior specimen of one of the few collectable colonial coins bearing the magical 1776 date." We should add that this is among the finest known, tied with three others at PCGS, all of which are attractive for different reasons. The condition census listed in the <em>Whitman Encyclopedia</em> ranges from EF-45 to MS-60.From the E Pluribus Unum Collection. Earlier from our (Stacks) Americana Sale of January 2010, lot 4423.
