½ Penny - George III Pattern (1795)

About the 1795 Halfpenny - George III Pattern

The 1795 Halfpenny - George III Pattern is a collector ½ penny coin, struck in gold plated copper. Reverse design: Britannia seated to the left, surrounded by the inscription "BRITANNIA" above and the year below.This is an automatic translation. The original text is:Britannia assise vers la gauche, entourée par l'inscription "BRITANNIA" au dessus et en dessous le millésime.

It is no longer legal tender, so its value is to collectors only.

Common questions

History and design

After the Tower halfpennies of 1770 to 1775, no regal halfpenny was struck until 1799. In the meantime Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint in Birmingham produced a series of trial designs, and Tony Clayton notes simply that Soho patterns are known. This 1795 halfpenny is one of them, made two years before the Royal Mint's account says Boulton was contracted to produce copper coinage in 1797.

The design was not adopted. Clayton records that plans to strike halfpence in the style of the 1797 cartwheel penny were dropped because the government feared Boulton could not meet the demand, and the halfpenny eventually issued in 1799 is a different design.

The obverse shows a laureate head of George III facing right, and the reverse Britannia seated left. Wildwinds describes one type, Peck 1051, with GEORGIUS III D G REX and SOHO below the head, set within a wide raised rim, and BRITANNIA 1795 on the reverse with Britannia on a globe holding a sceptre and shield. The Ashmolean Museum names Conrad Heinrich Küchler as engraver of its bronzed example, and Küchler also engraved the issued 1799 coin.

The Ashmolean's copper example (BMC 1042) is 30.1 mm across, weighs 13.16 g and has a plain edge. Its bronzed example is much heavier at 17.18 g.

Collecting notes

Several catalogue types exist. Clayton illustrates a 1795 Soho pattern as Peck 1054, Wildwinds describes Peck 1051, and the Ashmolean's pieces are listed as BMC 1038 variety and BMC 1042. Matching a piece to its type number, metal and weight is the first step, because the documented examples differ widely in weight.

Writing of the Soho coppers, Clayton notes that Boulton made later strikes in a variety of metals and W.J. Taylor struck more after acquiring the dies, recognisable chiefly by die corrosion. The issued design that followed is the 1799 halfpenny.