1766 Pitt Halfpenny Token. Betts-519, W-8350. Rarity-3. Copper. MS-64 BN (PCGS).
84.8 grains. 28.1 mm. A gem quality specimen of this classic issue. Abundant mint color persists around peripheries and as a halo around design elements, particularly on the reverse. The surfaces are chocolate-brown, frosty, and thoroughly lustrous, with strong cartwheel on both sides. The centering is ideal and the strike is extremely sharp. Only a little dark spot in the field in front of the chin keeps this piece from some higher grade. No marks, scratches, corrosion, or efforts at improvement are seen, only originality and near perfection. A Pitt halfpenny is on every colonial collectors want list. They exist in every grade, as they seem to have been commonly adopted among the circulating coppers for their size and similar design. Despite the relatively large numbers issued, and the fact that these are technically medalets, they are incredibly rare in high grade. Their target audience was not collectors with mahogany cabinets, but rank and file colonists, the kind of folks who might buy one as a souvenir and end up having to spend it someday. Apparently, most did just that. PCGS has certified just 10 of these in Mint State. Only one was judged better than this example.
PCGS# 236. NGC ID: 2AUH.
PCGS Population: 5; 1 finer (MS-66 BN).
From the Sydney F. Martin Collection. Earlier ex Lawrence R. Stack Collection, November 2006.