Images(2)

Virginia 1/2d

Date1773

Maker Tower of London Mint

Designer & engraver Richard Yeo

OriginEngland, London

MediumCopper

DimensionsDiameter: 25 mm

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1984-76

DescriptionObverse: Laureate bust of George III to r., GEORGIVS. III. REX. around.

Reverse: Virginia arms surrounded by VIRGINIA. 1773.
Label TextAlthough granted by it charter of 1606, Virginia did not pursue the right to a coinage until eve of the Revolution, when the Crown struck the only colony-specific issue ever fully authorized. Although the coins arrived in Virginia in a timely fashion, Treasurer Robert Carter Nicholas wouldn't release them for circulation until February 1775, when the royal proclamation permitting their circulation arrived.

Virginia's 1773 halfpenny was used extensively in Williamsburg, where more than 100 specimens have been recovered from archaeological digs.

Breen #180, Newman-25.n (with period)

Exhibition(s)