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I suspect time will tell. Im not sure i would agree with you statistical analysis but who am I but a stupid scientist who collects bits of old metal. Before today they were very rare because no one had ever noticed. In my opinion having looked at about 1000 1865 pennies on ebay alone I have found 4. DID you purchase the ones you spotted?

A quick small random sample of 12 coins, and instantly find 3 examples, I think itis fair to assume the surviving population is actually quite high. A 25% frequency out of such a small sample suggests this wasnt a rare occurrence from a single pair of die imo which is not worth much 😉

I suppose there will always be an initial flurry once the information is known. The reason for discussing it is to try to estimate the numbers to work out the rarity

That's good so we know there are 6 then so far. It took me 3 years to find them on ebay but I never think to look in other places for any coins except ebay.

heres another not on ebay. Just found a third also. so not including your coins thats 3 in 10mins.

They are a lot more obvious in high grades because I think most people would not notice the square edges on worn coins .

Yes thats one of mine i like putting things on ebay to get people to look at the site if im trying to raise money for the charity

This 1865 is on ebay listed as square colons.

Hello and Many thanks... it is a shame that its rubbed, it was the triangle lead me to Ireland the solid long cross took me to thinking Edward I, I can make out CIVI but I'm still way off with the shape of the fonts but its a learning curve 👍

No i just started looking at coins online and the 3rd coin I looked at is this example. https://dorsetcoincompany.co.uk/product/1865-bronze-halfpenny-victoria-young-head/

Thanks

Is this in your own collection?

They are out there I found this example of 1865 after looking at 3 coins.

I'm no expert on halfpennies - I created the site in lockdown for something to do and would never suggest that it's an exhaustive source of info on halfpennies. I will add something about these colons once the position is clear.

The only variant on the point rotation of each of the corners occurs on one where the side points to the middle of the two leaves after DG on three others the corner points directly into the two leaves. But this could be a repair but that then would suggest the same punch was used sometime after the initial " error " which seems very unlikely. The rotation of the others are consistent.

It's very easy to fall into a habit of glancing at something knowing what to expect only to realise it's a very different beast.

Yes of course this obverse was used in half pennies up to 1870s but it has never had square colons

Interesting…as Peckris suggests, then! I found Richard’s halfpenny site, I can’t see that it specifically mentions square/diamond colons? I would’ve expected to find it there if it was a known thing! https://halfpennyvarieties.wordpress.com/home-page-recreated/

Colons on every British half penny are struck round with a round punch. All four examples have square colons the square/diamond punch is placed consistently. The colons are unique to these 4 examples. The only other examples of a square colon set is the 1864 Canadian half cent.

I don’t quite follow you? Doesn’t Richard also have a halfpenny site, have you taken a look on there?

Certainly they are deliberate i was surprised to find the pattern and position consistent in even the fine i have. I will contact Michael I just thought I would ask forum members if they had or had not seen this obverse type first.

You’ve finally got some scales 😃 Taking your weight, and using the criterion from the North article below, I’d say yours is an early issue (1280-1284?) Dublin farthing - Open Es & Cs and the clear wedge-tailed R of Rex. Whilst the reverse legend is weak, it does appear to me that there are both a D and an I starting in each quarter, making it Dublin (CIVI TAS DVBL INIE). I believe the only other mint for these farthings is Waterford (CIVI TAS VATE RFOR), so you can probably rule that out in this case…I’ll let you to decide what letters you see, it’ll be so much easier for you to confirm in-hand. https://www.britnumsoc.org/publications/Digital BNJ/pdfs/1997_BNJ_67_4.pdf

As the square colons are both consistent and global, they're clearly not accidental. In the absence of any knowledge from forum members, Michael Gouby would be your next port of call.

Each of these is a different half penny 1865 the col9ns are completely different to the normal 1865 obverse and those found associated with the two types of 1865/3.

Oh yes on occasions I have seen it but nothing resembles this . I have a least 1000 1861 half pennies i always look to see if anomalies are accidental. A strike to a round edge flatens tht normal colon. But in the 65 the square is consistent.