''1776'' 1/2P Machin's, Vlack 6-76A, BN MS(PCGS#826951)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

4380

Grade

AU55BN

Price

7,200

Lot Description

A highly significant coin that belongs in any discussion that seeks to name the finest survivor from these dies. Both the strike and planchet quality are exceptional for the type, the design well centered on a defect-free flan. Obverse denticulation is complete, that on the reverse missing only at upper right, where the border is into the very top of the pole. Detail is generally sharp, just a bit soft in the centers, where some natural planchet texture remains. The overall strike is very similar to that seen on the Howes-Rosen-Trudgen plate coin (<em>The History and Coinage of Machin's Mills</em>, 2020, p. 129), but less wear is seen here, and the color is nicer. For the obverse we note warm, even, chestnut brown patina, the reverse is more varied in blended olive-brown and deep rose. Softly frosted in texture with nice gloss, especially on the obverse, no troublesome marks, just a bit of light surface build up here and there on the reverse that is of no consequence. Late die state with the reverse showing myriad cracks, although not quite as late as the terminal die state coin plated on p. 130 in Howes-Rosen-Trudgen. Not overstruck.<p>Believed to have been struck in 1785 at Samuel Atlee's brewery mint in New York City, as opposed to at Machin's Mills, this variety is one of only two contemporary counterfeit British halfpence of American origin that displays the magical 1776 date. The Vlack 6-76A typically comes with poor central definition, due to the obverse device punch being pressed too deeply into the die, a situation compounded by the moderate to heavy wear seen on most examples. This is the finest example that we can recall offering, and is a coin that will impress even the most discerning specialist in the Machin's Mills and related series.