Owner Comments:
Pictured above is a 1723 Rosa Americana (hereafter referred to as RA) 2 Pence graded MS 63 BN by PCGS, with a CAC sticker affixed. The variety has been assigned the M.3.18-E.17 (W-1334) designation, and is distinguished by a stop (period) after the word Rex on the obverse, and no stop after the date on the reverse. This piece carries an impressive provenance, as noted on the slab - traceable to DeWitt Smith, Virgil Brand, and John J. Ford.
The regular issue RAs, which may have been engraved by John Croker, a Dresden jeweler, are all dated 1722 or 1723. No denomination is specified on the coins, but they come in 3 different sizes: halfpence, pence, and 2 pence. The weight of the RAs is only about half that of similar official English denominations. The obverse features a right facing portrait of George I. The abbreviated peripheral legend translates into: George, By the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France & Ireland. The reverse of the pictured coin exhibits a crowned double rose surrounded by Rosa Americana meaning American Rose, with the additional wording "Utile Dulci" in an ornate label at the bottom, translating into "Useful and Sweet". Rare pattern pieces are dated 1717, 1724, 1727, and 1733, and include busts of George II, or his wife, and different Latin legends, such as one that translates into "Rose Without Thorns".
William Wood, of humble Huguenot upbringing, and from Wolverhampton, England, was the motivating force behind both the Hibernia coinage, intended to circulate in Ireland; and the RA pieces, intended as a distinctly American coinage for the "American Plantations", to help alleviate a chronic shortage of small change there. In addition to owning several copper, zinc, and tin mines, as well as various timber interests, Wood and his father-in-law ran factories to fashion their metals into usable objects. Wood's knowledge of metallurgy resulted in his formulation of a new "bath metal" alloy for the RA coinage, consisting of 75% copper; 24.7% zinc (in a poorly refined form called spelter), and .3% silver.
William Wood's plan was to turn a handsome profit from his coining ventures through seignorage, that is, the spread between what it cost to manufacture the pieces, and their ultimate face value. Unfortunately, coins could not be produced without first obtaining a royal patent. Wood was forced to pay King George I's mistress a 10,000 pound bribe to secure the Hibernia patent, (together with rent and other miscellaneous charges totaling 1,000 pounds per year). An additional unspecified sum (Breen suggests as high as an additional 10,000 pounds) was expended for permission to mint 300 tons of RAs over a proposed 14 year period. Translated into todays dollars, these bribes represented mammoth startup costs, that virtually guaranteed the financial loss of the venture. Other detrimental factors that plagued the project included: 1) The difficulties inherent in working with zinc - planchets had to be heated before striking, resulting in formation of gas bubbles that created pockmarks, cracks, and porosity; together with discolorations from improperly mixed metals. Since no collars were used, the coins varied in size, and had to have their plain edges filed. 2) In August 1724, Jonathan Swift, the Irish author of Gulliver's Travels bad-mouthed Wood and his coinage in a series of written articles. 3) A 1723 fire destroyed Wood's London mint. 4) Perhaps most importantly, the RA coinage never gained popularity with the American colonists, and therefore circulated to a very limited extent. (The Duke of Newcastle had, in vain, written numerous letters to leaders of the various colonies to promote the coins' use.) Some ground finds indicate that the RAs may have circulated principally in the South, such as in the South Carolina colony.
Ultimately, as established by Sydney Martin's research, Wood was forced to deviate from his Bath formula, and use a cheaper combination of metals in his coinage, (including no silver). In August 1725, Wood surrendered both the Hibernia and RA patents for 3,000 pounds per year for 8 years. Wood died 5 years later.