2018-01-09 Tue

On 18th Feb, Ira & Goldberg Auctioneers will auction the second known example of a Vlack 25-87C variety of 1787 Machin’s Mills Halfpenny.

Copper specialist Bob Grellman from McCawley & Grellman identified the variety while cataloguing lots for the upcoming auction. The variety reflects the fifth known use of the reverse die in a die marriage.

The key diagnostic is the obverse die crack. The initial die crack started at the rim over the I in GEORGIVS and then came down to the shoulder and turned right across the bust, exiting to the rim at the bust tip. The lower end of the crack is indistinct on both known examples. The present find is a later die state, indicated by a retained cud or die break at the end. On this current discovery, a small triangle of planchet metal is positioned over the I in GEORGIVS.

According to Grellman, the current discovery grades Fine 15 in detail with clean surfaces. The discovery piece from 2012 reported in the journal of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club exhibits Very Fine 25 details but with porosity on both sides.

After the New York State Legislature nixed a contract competition for state coinage, the Machin’s Mills began the production from a private mint.

After the state legislature rejected all contract proposals, Thomas Machin and five business partners established an illegal coining operation, striking pieces that mimicked British halfpence.

The cataloging system for the series is from Robert Vlack’s Early American Coins, the second edition of which was published in 1965.

The obverse of the piece depicts a bust of King George III, and the reverse depicts a seated figure of Britannia.