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1/2 Penny George Reigns - Bater Sea
| Issuer | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 1776 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Penny (1⁄480) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Laureate and draped bust of a male effigy facing right, rendered in the style of a regal portrait imitating contemporary British halfpenny coinage. The hair is shown tied at the back with flowing locks visible behind the neck. The circular legend GEORGE REIGNS is inscribed around the bust within the field, a deliberate evasion of the royal name to circumvent counterfeiting statutes. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | BATER SEA |
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| Additional information |
This is an 18th-century trade token, not a Royal Mint issue — "Bater Sea" being a phonetic rendering of Battersea, the Surrey village whose local traders and manufacturers frequently issued copper halfpenny tokens during the 1770s to address a chronic shortage of small official coinage. The Royal Mint had effectively abandoned halfpenny production for stretches of this decade, leaving commerce in London's outlying parishes to fend for itself through private token issues.
Atkins 144/5 places this among a documented series. Attributing precise issuers to individual Battersea tokens of this period remains difficult, as many were struck by the same handful of Birmingham die-sinkers working on commission.