Owner Comments:
Pictured above is an example of the Voce Populi coinage, all of which bore the date 1760. For several years, the British Royal Mint had been inconsistent and deficient in its production of Irish farthings and halfpence. As a result, small spendable coppers were scarce in Ireland. Merchants and the general populous clamored for relief.
Mr. Roche, an enterprising button maker for the British Army, came to the rescue. He began striking the Voce Populi coppers in Dublin, Ireland as a speculative private venture. These underweight tokens have been viewed as "evasive coppers" (bungtown), since they were crafted in such a way to appear official, yet deviate just enough to avoid the wrath of criminal counterfeiting laws. Since Mr. Roche died in 1760, yet numerous varieties surfaced as late as 1762, it is widely believed that other individuals and mint facilities may have been involved in the production of the Voce Populi pieces. Fortunately, by 1762 an infusion of legal royal coppers had arrived in Ireland for distribution.
The legend "voce populi" appearing on these tokens translates into "by the voice of the people". They were made predominantly in halfpence sizes, although some smaller farthings exist.
The obverse displays three main styles of head: the boyish head, the long bust, and the short bust. The profiles of the various bust varieties have been liken to: George II; George III; James III (James Francis Edward Stuart), sometimes termed the Old Pretender; Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart), sometimes known as the Young Pretender, the son of James III; and even John Hely-Hutchinson, the Provost of Dublin College. The obverse bust was embellished with a laurel wreath.
Both the Old and New Pretenders were Irish Catholics, thought by most Irishmen (Jacobites) to be the rightful Kings of England. Some have postulated that the letter "P" that appears on the obverse of some Voce Populi halfpence, stands for Princep, the Latin word for Prince, hence referring to the Older and Younger Pretenders.
Although a few specimens have been found with metal detectors, indicating that some may have arrived to America in the pocket change of foreign immigrants, there is no evidence that they widely circulated here. The voce populi legend is similar to the verbiage "voce popoli" appearing on the reverse of other tokens collected as part of the colonial series - the Georgivs Triumpho pieces.
Although all Voce Populi coppers were intended to bear the date 1760, due to an engraving error, some show the date as 1700. This oversight was later noticed, and rectified by placing a small tail on the top of the suspect zero, thereby transforming it into a 6. Another interesting variety features a die crack that resulted in the connection of the top and bottom of the "c" in Voce, making the word appear to read as "Vooe".