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2 Pence - Rosa Americana
| Issuer | United States (pre-federal and private territorial) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1722-1733 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 15 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | GEORGIVS.D:G:MAG.BRI:FRA:ET.HIB:REX. (Translation: George I by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland.) |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Rosa Americana coinage was the brainchild of William Wood, an English ironmaster who secured a royal patent in 1722 — almost certainly through bribing the Duchess of Kendal, George I's mistress — to produce copper coinage for the American colonies. The colonial assemblies never asked for it, never wanted it, and largely refused it. Jonathan Swift savaged the parallel Irish Wood's Halfpence scheme in the Drapier's Letters; the American issues attracted less literary outrage but equal commercial rejection.
The brass composition was Wood's own formula, marketed as superior to copper. Colonists were unconvinced. Most pieces returned to England unsold, which explains why survivors are found in finer condition than their age suggests.