{"id":1034,"date":"2026-01-27T21:50:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T10:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/?p=1034"},"modified":"2026-01-27T21:50:31","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T10:50:31","slug":"collection-focus-the-old-head-1754-george-ii-farthing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/?p=1034","title":{"rendered":"Collection Focus: The &#8220;Old Head&#8221; (1754 George II Farthing)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Continuing the journey backwards through time, my collection reaches the reign of George II. This coin represents a significant leap in age compared to the Victorian and William IV pieces previously showcased. We are now in the mid-1700s, an era when the Royal Mint was plagued by a unique problem: counterfeiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During this period, official copper coins were often melted down or hoarded, while lightweight fakes flooded the market. Finding a genuine official issue from this era, like this one, is a satisfying tick in the &#8220;Type Set&#8221; checklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Historical Context: The &#8220;Old Head&#8221;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>George II reigned for a long time (1727\u20131760). As a result, his coinage is divided into &#8220;Young Head&#8221; and &#8220;Old Head&#8221; issues.<br>This coin, dated&nbsp;<strong>1754<\/strong>, features the &#8220;Old Head&#8221; portrait. By this time, the King was in his 70s. The portrait was engraved by the legendary John Croker (one of the Mint&#8217;s greatest talents), capturing the aging monarch with a distinct laurel wreath and cuirassed bust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Farthing-1754-George-II-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Farthing-1754-George-II-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Farthing-1754-George-II-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Farthing-1754-George-II-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Farthing-1754-George-II-520x260.jpg 520w, https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Farthing-1754-George-II-940x470.jpg 940w, https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Farthing-1754-George-II.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Coin: 1754 George II Farthing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Denomination:<\/strong>\u00a0Farthing (\u00bc Penny)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monarch:<\/strong>\u00a0George II (Old Head)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Year:<\/strong>\u00a01754<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Metal:<\/strong>\u00a0Copper<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designer:<\/strong>\u00a0John Croker (Obverse)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reference:<\/strong>\u00a0Spink 3722<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Design:<\/strong><br>The obverse legend reads&nbsp;<em>GEORGIVS II REX<\/em>&nbsp;(King George II). The reverse displays Britannia, seated, holding a spray of leaves and a spear, with the date in the exergue below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Condition &amp; Grading<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Grading coins from the 1750s requires a different set of expectations than grading coins from the 1890s. Copper from this period was often less pure, leading to different aging patterns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Assessment:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Obverse:<\/strong>\u00a0The King&#8217;s portrait is visible but worn. The high points of the face are flat, though the outline of the &#8220;Old Head&#8221; profile is unmistakable. The legend is clear.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reverse:<\/strong>\u00a0Britannia is distinct, though she has lost the finer details of her drapery and shield.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Surface:<\/strong>\u00a0The coin possesses a dark, matte chocolate tone. You will notice some pitting and surface roughness (porosity), as well as some reddish deposits in the crevices (around the lettering). This is very common for copper that has been in the ground or stored in humid conditions over 270 years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Grade: Fine (F)<\/strong><br><em>In the US grading market, this would likely be graded as&nbsp;<strong>VG 10<\/strong>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<strong>F 12<\/strong>&nbsp;due to the surface porosity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Verdict<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While this coin shows the scars of its age\u2014surface pitting and honest wear\u2014it is a remarkable survivor. Think of the history this small piece of copper has witnessed. It was struck the same year the French and Indian War began in North America. To hold a coin from the 1750s is to hold a direct link to the pre-industrial world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Further Reading &amp; Data:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=E&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fen.numista.com%2Fcatalogue%2Fpieces13123.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">View 1754 Farthing Specifications on Numista<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Continuing the journey backwards through time, my collection reaches the reign of George II. This coin represents a significant leap&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":338,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,131,132],"tags":[85,89],"wf_post_folders":[],"class_list":["post-1034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-george-ii-1727-1760","category-coins","category-gb-coins","tag-copper","tag-farthing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Farthing-1754-George-II.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1035,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034\/revisions\/1035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1034"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gbc.31pendleton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwf_post_folders&post=1034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}