The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 2, January 9, 2005, Article 2

FOLLOW UP ARTICLE ON BOONSBORO COPPER

In our December 26, 2004 issue we discussed an article from a
Maryland newspaper with a a story about the discovery of a
common 18th century copper coin in Boonsboro, MD. The
article quoted NBS board member John Kraljevich, who hadn't
been able to examine the coin or a photo. The reporter has
written a follow up story which was published today.

"Local contractor Clyde Barnhart's discovery of a centuries-old
coin beneath the rotten floorboards of the historic Boone Hotel
building in Boonsboro sparked interest among coin collectors.
Their enthusiasm for the find - and their estimation of the coin's
value - increased at least tenfold when they saw the copper coin's
image in the newspaper.

That's because it's a fake. A 219-year-old one.

"That's unreal. There's no way I would have expected that," said
Barnhart, a Hagerstown resident who found the worn, copper
halfpenny dated 1775 a few months ago while renovating the
former hotel building on Boonsboro's Main Street. The front
side of the coin includes a bust of King George III with the
words "Georgius III Rex." The back side of the coin reads
"Brittania."

John J. Kraljevich Jr. of Annapolis, director of numismatic -
pertaining to coins and currency - research for New Hampshire-
based American Numismatic Rarities, pegged the coin as
common - and today worth between $5 and $10 - when he
was called with a description of the coin and the location of
the find. He also noted that many "coppers" were counterfeit
by the late 18th century.

Kraljevich and counterfeit halfpenny specialist Byron Weston
agreed that Barnhart's coin fits into the contemporary counterfeit
category - and the only known American-made variety of 1775
British halfpenny fakes - when the experts saw the picture of the
halfpenny in the Sunday, Dec. 26, edition of The Herald-Mail.

Kraljevich and Weston then estimated the coin's value at a
minimum of about $100."

"Barnhart's coin is considered a Rarity-4, meaning there are
between 76 and 200 known specimens, Weston said.

"It is a Vlack 4-75A and is Atlee's handiwork," Kraljevich
said. "As far as precisely when or where it was made, let's
just say counterfeiters tend not to leave a lot of paperwork
behind and that this information is a bit speculative, but
probably essentially accurate as well."

To read the full story, see:
Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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