1862 Penny - small date

[Accumulator 52]

I bought an 1862 'small date' penny in the recent LC auction. The example was much better than the usual washer but does need a little treatment for a small patch of verd. It's currently sitting in olive oil, awaiting a delivery of verd-care.

Anyway, I was looking at the digits used for the date. Gouby states that, "probably a halfpenny punch was used". Does anyone have an 1862 halfpenny for comparison?

Below is a photo showing the normal penny and the smaller date, in similar condition.

[just.me 23]

My small date Penny is one of the usual 'washers' , but here it is with a Halfpenny on top

Edited September 16, 2014 by just.me

[Accumulator 52]

Interesting, but without trying to overlay the images I find it difficult to be sure. The "1" seems wider on the penny, but that may just be due to the strike?

[Rob 2,998]

I don't have an 1862 penny, but this 1860 does 3/4 of the job. Both are as struck, so no wear to consider, just quality of strike or worn dies.

This was discussed about 7 or 8 years ago and the results were that the halfpenny numerals are roughly 10-15% smaller

Edited September 16, 2014 by Rob