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1 Farthing - Mark Newby
| Issuer | New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Year | 1663-1672 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Farthing (1⁄960) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central effigy of King David, crowned and robed, seated and playing a harp. A distinctive brass plug or drop is applied to the crown above, serving as the authorizing counterstamp that gave these coins legal tender status in New Jersey. The regal figure is rendered in a stylized baroque manner typical of mid-17th-century Irish coinage. The legend encircles the design in the field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | FLOREAT REX (Translation: May the King flourish.) |
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| Additional information |
Mark Newby arrived in West New Jersey from Dublin in 1681 carrying a quantity of St. Patrick's coppers — struck in Ireland during the 1660s — and in May 1682 the New Jersey Provincial Assembly granted them legal tender status, making this the first coin to receive legislative authorization in American colonial history. No other privately imported foreign coinage achieved that standing before it.
The brass plug hammered into the crown area appears on a small fraction of surviving pieces and is generally interpreted as a merchant or official countermark distinguishing higher-denomination farthings from halfpence within Newby's own distribution scheme. Its exact authorization remains debated.