Owner Comments:
Collecting the proof Irish halfpennies and farthings struck at the Soho is somewhat more complicated than other areas. This mostly because, like most other Irish copper, these coins do not come up to auction for reasonable prices very often, and there are numerous types. Spink only lists a handful of the most prevalent types, but countless other examples exist. The edge type can be a critical diagnostic for these pieces. As I mentioned before, I lack a Peck equivalent reference book for Irish coins, and the majority of what I have to state here is just my observations without much in the way of verified information from someone like Peck. I will say, however, that proof farthings seem to be more prevalent than their halfpenny counterparts.
Obverse: George III faces right, his head adorned with a wreath of 11 leaves, and three berries tied behind his neck with a riband of 1 bow and one loose end that flows out to the left and points down. The curls of his hair rest behind the neck and on both shoulders. A brooch of 6 beaded jewels catches the drapery on the right shoulder. The lowest fold of the drapery is plain. The legend which is contained within a thin raised rim and beaded border and reads as follows: GEORGIUS III · D: G · REX. all evenly spaced. A small flaw occurs on the neck. A minor hair-like defect occurs in the field behind the bow. This example is free of any contact marks, and the legend is fully struck with no die breaks. The deeply mirrored fields are highly glossy and are a rich chocolate brown. Red luster dances around the protected areas of the letters, bust, and the hair-like flaw. This is an exceptional example of a bronzed proof Irish Farthing.
Reverse: The reverse portrays a crowned harp with nine strings. The left side of the harp consists of a half-clad woman; her lower half is adorned with what I describe at a mermaid-like fin. Her top half is exposed with her arms depicted as wings that make up the top part of the harp where the crown rests. The bottom band of the crown is decorated with a pattern of precious stones that appears as the following: (
· · ● · · ● · · ● · ·). The top of the crown consists of two bridges, one on the left and on the right, which convenes the top center of the cross located on the top middle of the band just described. Both bridges are decorated with eight beads resting upon a curved bar; however, the three beads closest to the cross appear more tooth-like than beaded on both sides. The inner ring of the crown is slightly striated. No flaw occurs under the arch of the harp. Note the design of the right arm of the harp; this becomes less elegant as the denomination decreases. The legend reads as follows: HIBERNIA with the date 1806 appearing below the primary device and is contained within a thin raised rim and beaded borders. Except for a carbon spot under the right side of the harp, this coin is immaculate. The fields are highly reflective, and the color is even brown.
Edge: Engrailed
Notes: This coin is the epitome of what you would expect from a proof piece struck at the Soho Mint. The details are bold and pop out against the mirrored fields. The craftsmanship allows the observer to see leaf veins and tiny hair details. The red luster paired with the chocolate drown color of the deeply-mirrored fields is beautiful. The reverse is just as splendid as the obverse. This is currently the only graded example at NGC, and I was unable to verify this, but there may be none at PCGS.