1778 Machin Mills Half Penny Found !!

Went to an old cellar hole a couple weeks ago with FoundationHunter, didn't realize 1 of my finds turned out to be a 1778 Machin Mils Half Penny . I recently started cleaning a lot of my coins when i was doing a hot peroxide bath on this particular coin i was able to start seeing a date on it, i just recently got a new book i bought off Ebay to help recognize a lot of the old coins we can find while cellar hole hunting. This book has a boat load of info.

That is an awesome find!!! :thumbsup02: Congrats on the Revolutionary War coin!!!

Thank you

WTG on the KG! What book did you get?

Looks like you got something there. Most of the "Machins" pieces I see are actually George III and not Machins at all. Your's looks right. Here's a links to a Machin's Mill photo plates online. http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinImages/Machin/Vlack-2.jpg I've been collecting colonials for years and one of my favorite pieces associated with Machins Mills is pictured here. I actually like these 1784's so much I have two.

The book is called Whitman Encyclopedia of colonial and early American coins, got it on eBay for $20

For those who don't know, Thomas Machin, the maker of this coin, was a captain during the Revolutionary War and was responsible for the emplacement of the Great Chain across the Hudson River to block the British as West Point. His son, Thomas Machin Jr was a brigadier general during the War of 1812. In between, Thomas Machin was a counterfeiter with a mint just north of Newburgh, NY on Orange Lake. He is primarily known for his counterfeit British halfpence, but also struck many NJ coppers, primarily over Connecticut coppers. At the time, CT coppers traded at 16 to the shilling and NJ's traded at 12 to the shilling. You would need 64 CT's to get 4 shillings but only 48 NJ's. It was a good deal for him. Most were struck around 1789 with dies dated earlier. I actually owned one of his 1787 NJ's struck over a 1788 CT. Very interesting period in our nations coinage.

Great info thank you Don, I'm learning more and more everyday!!!!

Fantastic find, rare and in lovely condition! :wow: I have the Whitman book too and it is wonderful.

I just thought I'd throw this in. A number of you mentioned you have the Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins. I thought I'd put up a photo of kind of a who's who of contributors to the book. This photo was taken during a break of the Frederick B Taylor sale at the Vista Hotel in 1987(was at the base of the World Trade Center and was crushed on 9/11). I named a number of those in the photo who were contributors to the book. There are a few that are named that weren't and I just added their names as their collections were sold as major auctions including Perkins, Rescigno and Henry Garrett's NJ's.

Steve Tanenbaum, http://stevetanenbaum.com/ was a noted authority on Civil War Tokens/colonials and was tragically run down by a man escaping the murder of 3 people in a stolen car. Bill Anton has one of the most extensive collections of colonial coins on the planet with a specialty in New Jerseys. I remember walking around a coin show with Bill about 20 years ago. We would stop at each dealer's table and attribute the colonial coins in the dealers cases without opening the case in most instances. At the time my eyesight was much better and Bill carried a giant magnifying glass. Robert Martin was my early mentor in colonials and probably knows more about them then anyone. He's a Connecticut specialist. George Perkins sold his collection a number of years ago. He was a Connecticut collector and I remember something he told me about 25 years ago that really made me think. I had sent him a very worn CT copper for sale at a price of $1,250. It was a rare one. He said to me that he was really looking for one in better condition, but it hadn't come along and over the years he didn't regret any of the coins he bought, but he does regret some of the coins he passed on. He bought the coin. For those of you that watch Pawn Stars, every once in a while they get a colonial era document and call in Dana Linette. He's probably gained 60 pounds since this photo, but I've gained 30 myself. It's been a fun 30 years collecting colonials.

Nice Machin Mills Gary,great details.
Gary

Thank you!!!!!