Owner Comments:
The charter granted by King James I on 4/10/1606 establishing the Virginia Plantation was unique numismatically. It was the only charter of an American colony specifically authorizing the minting of coins. Or, as articulated by Eric Newman, the 1773 Virginia halfpenny was the only royally authorized coin for America with full legal tender status. Despite earlier unsuccessful attempts to exercise this prerogative, it wasn't until less than 2 years before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War that coins were actually struck.
The Virginia halfpennies were fashioned at the Royal Mint in the Tower of London. The likely engraver of the dies was Richard Yeo and/or Thomas Pingo.
Approximately 672,000 pieces were produced. Because of paranoia on the part of the colony's treasurer however, (awaiting written royal permission to disburse, that had long since been given; and requiring newspaper publication to the colonists), the coins were not actually distributed for 13 months after their arrival. A month later, on 4/19/1775, the first battles of the Revolutionary War erupted in Lexington and Concord Massachusetts. As might be expected, with impending hostilities, Virginians started hoarding the new halfpennies, along with all other copper coins. Of 59 coins found during the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg, 40 were Virginia halfpennies. The wear on such coins reflects that some circulated both during and after the war, even though the portrait of the hated King of England dominated the coin's obverse.
The regular copper 1773 halfpennies came in two types - those with and without a period after Georgivs. Those with a period are more plentiful.
The specimen pictured above exhibits the period, and is graded MS 64 RB by PCGS. The obverse features a profile of George III facing left. The reverse depicts the Coat of Arms of the House of Hanover, which the King permitted Virginia to use, as a reward for the colony's loyal support during the English Civil War. One quadrant displays a harp. Various varieties exhibit either 6, 7, or 8 harp strings (a 9 string die exists, but no coins were produced using it). Both the date digits, and letters in the word Virginia, are divided by intervening design elements. A number of fakes exist. Many diverse varieties are obtainable at little or no premiums. A very limited number (under 20) of large planchet 1773 proofs were minted. These rare pieces, with milled borders, are sometimes called pennies, but were actually halfpennies. Approximately six silver 1774 shillings exist. These coins, that were never requisitioned by the Virginia colony, display the peripheral language George III Dei Gratia instead of the typical George III Rex legend.
Sometime during the 19th century, Colonel Mendes L. Cohen, a prominent Baltimore banker and coin collector, acquired a large quantity of uncirculated 1773 Virginia halfpennies, probably numbering in excess of 5,000 pieces. A number of theories have been propounded as to their source, ranging from a gift from Cohen's father, to the speculative imaginings of Walter Breen.
The bottom line is that no definitive conclusions can be reached as to the hoard's quantity, location, and date(s) of acquisition. The cache was slowly sold over time. Among the intermediaries were Cohen's heirs, and even Wayte Raymond. The balance of the coins were auctioned in 1929 for a few cents each. Several were in red mint state condition, but spotted or stained.
Two other smaller hoards have been discussed in the literature.