1/2 Penny - Rosa Americana

William Wood obtained his patent to coin copper for the American colonies in 1722 through a grant from George I, widely suspected to have been facilitated by the King's mistress, the Duchess of Kendal, who reportedly received £10,000 for her role in securing it. The colonial reaction was hostile from the start. Wood's coinage was never formally authorized by the colonial assemblies, and in Ireland — where he held a parallel patent — Jonathan Swift's Drapier's Letters generated enough public fury to effectively kill that issue. The American pieces fared only marginally better, circulating sporadically before the patent was surrendered in 1722.

The brass alloy Wood called "orichalcum" was his own proprietary formula, which he promoted as superior to standard copper.