Catalog
1/2 Penny Regal Imitation - George III left
| Issuer | Canadian provinces |
|---|---|
| Year | 1835 |
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| Currency | Pound |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A crude and schematic representation of Britannia seated to the right, holding a spear in her right hand and a spray of leaves in her left, rendered in the rough, imitative style typical of Lower Canadian counterfeit halfpence of the period. The design is poorly executed with little fine detail, the figure occupying the central field without a legend or exergual inscription. The simplified artistic treatment is consistent with locally produced emergency copper coinage intended to alleviate a shortage of small change in the Canadian provinces. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
These brass imitations of British regal halfpennies flooded Lower Canada during the 1820s and 1830s to fill a chronic shortage of authorized small change. They were produced privately — almost certainly in Birmingham — and entered circulation without any official sanction, tolerated simply because nothing else was available. The CCT BL-13 designation places this piece within Breton and Courteau's classification of the so-called "blacksmith" and imitation series, a loose grouping of unofficial coppers that dominated petty commerce in the St. Lawrence valley for decades.