Owner Comments:
As an American, I was taught to believe that King George III was a mad tyrant who ruled with an iron fist. As I studied the coinage struck under his reign, I was also consumed by a lot of literature, both modern and contemporary, which told a very different story. I soon realized that he was largely the scapegoat of political dissent both at home and abroad. To this end, I find the obverse design so compelling. In this rendition, Kuchler portrays an ostentatious King wearing an oversized crown. From an American perspective, especially that of someone who just won their independence from such a “tyrant”, there could be no better illustration of a pompous fool. I find this juxtaposition highly amusing, even more so given what I have learned about the King’s actual feelings towards his people. Although I wish this design had been adopted for all regal coinage, it is likely best that it did not. The King was already suffering an image issue. There was no need to feed the flames. This is by far my favorite observe design of the entire Halfpenny series. As readers likely already know, a more modest bust was adopted, and this design was employed for most of the proofs, patterns, and restrikes of the 1799 Halfpenny. Peck (1964) classifies this coin as a
rare restrike (P-1258). Although this variety is relatively rare compared to the rest of the series, it appears that a few examples come up for sale every year. My affection for the design seems to be well shared as the examples depicting the King adorned with a large crown often command significant premiums over other, relatively rare varieties. I have owned three examples of this type, two of which are still in my collection. The other was sold to a good friend who was likewise intrigued by the obverse design.
Obverse: The obverse design depicts King George III facing right. An extremely large and highly detailed crown rests on this head. For the sake of parsimony, I will only describe the portions of the highest interest. For instance, the lis on either side of the inner cross have been slightly altered from the original dies prepared by Kuchler and now appear more angular. The inner center cross has also been retouched, and in the process, a substantial portion of the pearl immediately above it is missing. Hair flows from under the crown, and a group of large curls appears just above his ear. His hair flows down the back of his neck and rests on his shoulder. A small lock of hair can be seen immediately under the draped bust. Unlike the numerous other 1799 Halfpennies, there is no jewel to catch the folds of the drapery. A very large “K.” is present on the lowest fold of the drapery. The legend “GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA REX” is contained within a thin raised rim and a toothed border.
Reverse: By most accounts, the reverse design of this variety is very similar to the others employed in this series; however, Peck (1964) notes several deviations. Like most 1799 Halfpennies, Britannia is depicted facing left, wearing a close-fitting drapery, sitting on a rock surrounded by waves. Her right arm is extended, and her hand holds an olive-branch with 14 leaves and no berries. Her left arm is down with a trident clasped in her grasp. The middle prong points to the left limb of the “N” in “BRITANNIA”. To her left is an oval shield with a thin raised rim adorns the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew (heraldically colored). Peck (1964) notes that a thin raised line appears around the shield, but it is incomplete toward the bottom right of the shield. Under magnification, this almost gives the appearance of the shield being partially dug into the ground. The space between the butt of the spear and shield is almost devoid of detail except for four small horizontal lines. The mintmark “SOHO” occurs on a rock just below the shield, and a series of three raised dots in a triangular shape appears on the rock behind the shield. A 3-masted warship with a poop (i.e., a deck above the main deck) appears in the sea in front of her about halfway down her leg. The sea is weak in places and shows very little detail. Peck notes that the original ship had been polished off and replaced with a very crudely engraved one. This is very apparent when comparing this ship with those engraved by Kuchler, which makes Taylor’s look like something out of a cartoon. Peck also notes that there are no gun ports, and an irregular lump (i.e., raised bump) occurs under the stern. The sea is curved, and a large flaw (i.e., a die crack) occurs from the bottom of the sea extending through Britannia’s foot and eventually tracing the edge of the sea and concluding in almost equal height to the foremast. The date “1799” occurs just under the curved sea, with the “1” completely separated from the sea. Two large die cracks occur on both sides of the last “9” in the date. The legend “BRITANNIA” occurs within a thin, raised rim and toothed borders. The numerous rust spots throughout the fields and the weak spots in the drapery and sea attest to the fact that this a restrike made from heavily repolished and altered dies. The reverse is very appealing, with a slightly subdued reddish-brown color.
Edge: Plain
Notes: Beyond the design of this coin, the way it was manufactured is rather interesting, as it gives us a glimpse into Taylor’s process. As discussed in Peck (1964), Taylor likely did not have a complete die of a related variety. Instead, he used the obverse punch and created a new die to strike this piece. The lettering throughout the legend is a dead giveaway to those familiar with his work, but the largest tell is that the obverse die was not concave. Boulton introduced slightly concave dies when designing the 1799 halfpennies as an anti-counterfeiting mechanism. To this end, the obverse of these restrikes would have been concave if Taylor had a workable Soho-produced die. Instead, we get a Frankenstein of sorts with a planular obverse paired with a concave reverse.
Adding further intrigue, this coin is absolutely stunning in hand. I was admittedly a bit skeptical when this piece came up for sale. It is highly unusual to find Taylor restrikes in such lofty grades. I was pleasantly surprised when I finally got to look at this piece in hand. It is a substantial update to the PR-64 BN I sold to my friend, and much nicer than the other example in my collection. Of course, the other example is from the Boulton Family and therefore has a permanent home in my collection independent of any other examples I might acquire along the way. As is often the case these days, the holder is very scuffed. I will eventually send this coin to be imaged and placed in a fresh holder by NGC. For now, I will use the images I took through the scuffed slab. Be assured, this coin is immaculate. I can say with full confidence that any perceivable mark is on the holder and not the coin. There are currently 29 examples of this variety graded by NGC. This is the sole example graded PF-67 BN, with four graded PF-66 BN. This is undoubtedly a trophy coin.