1773 VA 1/2P Period, RB MS(PCGS#241)

June 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

1123

Grade

MS64RB

Price

1,708

Lot Description

Lightly toned in iridescent olive-brown, both sides of this lovely near-Gem remain abundant mint color in vivid pinkish-rose. Well struck with hard, frosty surfaces, there is much to recommend this coin to high grade colonial era type collectors.<p>Although the April 10, 1606 charter that King James granted to Virginia gave the colony coinage privileges, it was not until December 20, 1769, that the Virginia House of Burgesses passed an act allocating money for the minting of copper coins in Britain. The act was the result of increasing pressure from tradesmen in the colony who sought copper coins to be used in commerce, as the mix of English, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch pieces in use at the time was seen as inadequate. The final design was approved in 1772, and on May 20, 1773, the British crown authorized the coinage of halfpennies for Virginia. The coins were struck in the Royal Mint in the Tower of London. The Virginia halfpence are, in fact, the only coins authorized and produced in England for use in an American colony.