Colonial America column from Nov. 23, 2015, issue of Coin World:
Halfpence were everywhere in Colonial America, representing the
staple coin for small-scale transactions throughout the 18th century.
Generically, they were termed “coppers,” a catchall term that
included all sorts of small copper coins of foreign origin, homegrown
types, and assorted tokens made both in America and abroad. Phillip
Mossman’s library centerpiece Money of the American Colonies and
Confederation includes a reference to a newspaper article dated
July 30, 1789, that reported seeing five different coppers in
circulation, ranging from a 38-grain German quarter stuber and a
54-grain French liard to a 1727 French sol weighing 182 grains.
Between those extremes, colonists and early Americans saw an abundance
Two major types of copper halfpence were seen in early America:
those struck for use in England and those produced for Ireland. The
copper halfpenny was first produced in 1672, during the reign of Charles II, and every English type that followed
in the 17th and 18th centuries depicted the monarch on the obverse and
a seated Britannia on the other. Irish halfpence were first struck in
copper in the reign of Elizabeth I, in 1601, and by the end of that
century their designs echo those of their English brethren.
Early in the 18th century, most halfpence were genuine issues of
London’s Tower Mint, but as the century went on, and the genuine
issues became more and more worn, counterfeits became more widespread.
Against a backdrop of worn-out William III halfpence, whose designs quickly
wore away, low-quality counterfeits blended in. They persisted
throughout the 18th century, even as genuine halfpence of George I, George II, and George III arrived from the mother country.
In 1729, the very first George II halfpence were struck, five years
after the thick “Dump” type of George I were last produced. The
Pennsylvania Gazette reported to its readership in Philadelphia
on March 15, 1729, that, “There having been several attempts to
circulate light Half-Pence, occasioned by scarcity of copper coin, we
hear that a quantity Half-Pence will be coined at the Tower, of full
weight, to prevent the country being imposed upon by light-weight.”
The largest importation of halfpence from England came in 1750, when
more than 700,000 George II halfpence dated 1749 were shipped to
Boston by order of Parliament. After this enormous infusion of new
coppers, the same old halfpennies continued to circulate for decades,
their numbers augmented only occasionally thereafter, more often by
counterfeits than by genuine coins. The colonists supplemented their
supplies with counterfeits, both American made and imported, some cast
and some struck. Just like their genuine counterparts, all are avidly