Lot 4
(1672-75) St. Patrick Halfpenny Breen-199 Vlack 5-D. VF-30. Slightly sharper with very fine roughness under a glossy dark chocolate brown patina. The highpoints are a lighter shade of brown on the side showing St. Patrick and the eye appeal of this piece is excellent. No verdigris or contact marks and the edge reeding is complete. The only weakness is at FLORE due a to an uneven strike before the angel. Variety with medium sized letters on the obverse and a space between FLORE and AT so that legend reads "FLORE AT REX" rather than "FLOREAT REX" as seen on most of these halfpennies. Although the St. Patrick coppers were struck in London and were used in England and Ireland, they eventually became part of the coinage fabric of the colonies and were declared legal tender by the Provincial Assembly in New Jersey in 1682 (hence their official connection to Colonial America). The example offered here is quite nice for the type in spite of the slightly imperfect surfaces. It is clearly superior to any of the variety offered in the important and extensive St. Patrick copper collections of John Griffee and Glen Ivey. Weight 138.2 grains.
Estimated Value $1,250 - 1,500.
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| Realized $2,185 |
