Owner Comments:
Pictured above, is a 1784 Half Pence, graded VF 20 by PCGS, and variously categorized as a Vlack 14-84A, W-8130, or Breen 974. It has resided in several respectable collections.
From the Machin's Mills notation on the slab, one might erroneously conclude that this coin was a product of that rogue mint. Although included as early as 1974 as a Machin's Mills variety on Robert Vlack's pioneering plate, over time this piece's perceived connections to that mint have diminished, and in a recent scholarly work by Howes, Rosen, and Trudgen, it has been delisted as such.
So where was this rare issue, typically collected as part of the circulating counterfeit British Halfpenny series, and of anonymous origin, produced? Examples are known both in Britain, and predominantly in America. Eric P. Newman suggested a possible connection to North Swansea, Massachusetts, formerly a hotbed of counterfeiting activity. An American attribution is bolstered by: the number of specimens discovered by metal detectorists in the mid-Atlantic region; their presence in a prominent Monclair, N.J. hoard; and their longstanding inclusion in several older American collections.
Others, such as Bryon Weston, believe that the Vlack 14-84A Half Pence was manufactured in England or Ireland, and migrated to America during the Confederation Period. If so, the coin exhibits typical characteristics of a British evasion emission, aimed at avoiding potential prosecution under British counterfeiting laws: For example, the 1784 date found on these pieces was not used on any legally mandated regal halfpennies, or die combinations thereof. The number "1" in the date is in the form of a "J", that would not have passed muster with those supervising official British Mint production.
The obverse view pictured above features an unusual frail-looking head, with a long thin muscular neck, and an elongated pointed nose. These pieces were notoriously poorly struck and centered, often from misalligned dies, and with mentionable planchet roughness. (The poor striking quality could have been intentional, to simulate widespread use in commerce.) The coins exhibit a crude engraving style, with the following oddly-spaced obverse lettering: GEORG IVS. III.REX . The reverse features a thin figure of Britannia; a double exergue line; and outlined shield lines (unlike typical Machin's Mills emissions).
Although this coin was originally considered a great rarity, increasing ground finds have rendered it more plentiful, and therefore more collectable. Today, the estimated population is in the range of 16 to 50 specimens. 12 have been graded by PCGS, and 4 by NGC. The two highest graded examples are one graded XF 40, and another XF 45, both by PCGS. At least one contemporary counterfeit of this counterfeit is known.