1773 Virginia Halfpenny. Newman 25-M, W-1580. Rarity-2. 7 Harp Strings, Period After GEORGIVS. MS-64

1773 Virginia Halfpenny. Newman 25-M, W-1580. Rarity-2. 7 Harp Strings, Period After GEORGIVS. MS-64 RB (PCGS).，This is a lovely Virginia halfpenny. The surfaces are predominantly lustrous with vivid bright orange color and minimal glossy-brown toning. The brown is a bit more pronounced on the obverse, although both sides reveal modest semi-reflectivity in the fields under a light. Boldly struck and very attractive, there is not much separating this premium quality example from a full Gem grade. The Virginia halfpennies were authorized by the Crown and served their purpose in the Colony of Virginia just prior to the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Most Mint State survivors are from the Colonel Mendes I. Cohen Hoard, obtained by Cohen, a numismatist, probably the late 1860s or the early 1870s. The hoard contained in excess of 2,000 pieces by contemporary accounts, many of which were dispersed by Cohen over the years. Most of todays Uncirculated Virginia halfpennies probably originated with the Cohen hoard, to which current numismatists owe a great debt.，，