The St. Patrick halfpenny

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The St. Patrick halfpenny, was a series of milled coins believed to have been minted in the 17th century either in England, Ireland or Wales.

The reverse design shows King David kneeling playing a harp while gazing up at the royal crown of England. One peculiarity of the harp is that it bears a semi-nude winged female figure on the pillar, a typology that became common on English coins beginning in the second quarter of the 17th century [citation needed]. The legend on the obverse reads FLOREAT REX (May the King Flourish).

The obverse of the smaller copper halfpenny shows St. Patrick dressed in bishop's garments wearing a miter and holding a double-cross crozier. He is depicted dispelling the serpents from Ireland that are portrayed as various aquatic beasts, some are fabulous. In the background is purportedly St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. The legend reads QUIESCAT PLEBS (May the People Be at Peace).

On the larger copper specimens St. Patrick is seen preaching to a crowd gathered round him. To his right is a shield with devices of several towers usually interpreted as three, suggesting the city shield of Dublin. The legend reads ECCE GREX (Behold the Flock). The majority of these St. Patrick halfpennies are copper coins with a splash of brass minted in two sizes, large and small. Several known specimens exist in silver and one in gold, though reports of pewter and lead have also been made. The silver and gold specimens are minted on the smaller copper dies. The splash of brass on the obverse of the copper coins is intended to create the illusion that the royal crown that King David glances at is made of gold.

Where these coins were minted is still uncertain. One suggestion is they were minted at the Tower Mint in London. When these coins were minted has been the subject of debate for the past two hundred and sixty years. Proposed dates for these coins are 1641-1642; 1667-1669; 1672–1674. The current thinking is they were minted during the reign of Charles II of England. Who coined them and the circumstances surrounding them is still uncertain. Two candidates: Pierre Blondeau or Nicholas Briot have been proposed as the designer of these coins, but both suggestions seem unlikely.

One smaller copper specimen bears a counterstamp along the base of the obverse that reads MDLIII, which may suggest a date of 1553, but that is far too early to be taken seriously.

It is purported that about 450 different die varieties exist of this series. Approximately 1,000 specimens are known in census. The number of coins minted has been guessed to be somewhere in the vicinity of approximately 15,000 pieces.

Sometime prior to 1678 an unknown quantity of these St. Patrick coins were brought to the Isle of Man. The Tynwald Act of June 24, 1679 demonetized them as of 15 January 1680, thus making subsequent specimens there extremely rare.

In 1681 it is supposed that Mark Newby (or Mark Newbie), a Quaker who emigrated to Ireland, had brought a substantial quantity of these copper coins to America when he relocated to West New Jersey and settled in Camden. On May 18, 1682 he was instrumental in having these coppers made legal tender in the region.

Numismatists classify the various die varieties according to the schemes proposed by Walter Breen and Robert Vlack giving them Breen or Vlack numbers followed by letters.

[edit] External links

[edit] Bibliography

  • Breen, Walter, "Comments on St. Patrick Halfpence and Farthings" The Colonial Newsletter 7 (April 1968, serial no. 22), 214-217
  • Breen, Walter, "Additional Comments on St. Patrick Farthings" The Colonial Newsletter 7 (December 1968, serial no. 24), 233
  • Crosby, Sylvester S., The Early Coins of America (Lawrence MA, 1974)
  • Danforth, Brian J., “St. Patrick Coinage,” The Colonial Newsletter 2371
  • Danforth, Brian J., “St. Patrick Coinage Revisited,” The Colonial Newsletter 2786
  • Danforth, Brian J., "New Interpretations on Irish Coppers in the American Colonies: The St. Patrick, Wood's Hibernia and Voce Populi Series." Coinage of the Americas Conference (COAC) Paper, notice in: E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 18, May 4, 2003 (Numismatic Bibliomania Society)
  • Frazer, William, “On the Irish "St. Patrick" or "Floreat Rex" coinage, subsequently circulated in New Jersey by Mark Newbie, with reasons for connecting it with Lord Glamorgan's attempts to levy troops in Ireland for Charles I,” Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Vol. XXV Series V, Vol. V December (1895): 338-347
  • Hodder, Michael, "The Saint Patrick Copper Token Coinage: A Re-evaluation of the Evidence, The Colonial Newsletter 27 (November 1987, serial no. 77), 1016-18;
  • Horan, J. J., “Some observations and speculations on St. Patrick halfpence and farthings,” The Colonial Newsletter, 15, (October, 1976 serial no. 47): 567.
  • Newman, Eric, "Circulation of St. Patrick Farthings in America, The Colonial Newsletter 7 (July 1968, serial no. 23), 220;
  • Seaby, W. A., “A St Patrick halfpenny of John de Courci,” British Numismatic Journal 29, (1958/59): 87-90, pl.
  • Sharp, Michael. "The St. Patrick Coinage of Charles II," British Numismatic Journal 68 (1998): 160
  • Vlack, Robert A.,"Die Varieties of St. Patrick Halfpence," The Colonial Newsletter 7 (January 1968, serial no. 21), 199-202
  • Vlack, Robert A., Early American Coins (Johnson City NY, 1965)
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