1806 British half penny

[Robert]

I saw an 1806 halfpenny a little while ago and noticed it was in nice shape and it had a plain edge instead of the "normal" grooved edge. Does a plain edge mean the coin is a proof or were there some plain edge circulation strikes?

[coppercoins]

I looked in Krause (as I'm sure you already did) and couldn't find an answer to this. Not sure where the answer would be.

[smed]

I've never heard of an 1806 halfpenny that didn't have a smooth edge. Nothing's listed on Tony Clayton's website either.

[Robert]

I've seen several 1806 and 1807 British halfpennies and they all had a "security edge" sort of like some British Hong Kong issues.

If you scroll down to the pic of the 1807 halfpenny on this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfpenny_(British_pre-decimal_coin) and click on it you'll sort of see what I'm talking about. The edge of the coin has a sandwich-like appearance... flat near the 2 faces of the coin but in the middle of the edge, all along the circumference, there is a reeded/milled appearance. I believe this is the "normal" appearance for these coins. I suspect proof coins have a smooth edge (like a Lincoln cent or a nickel) but I'm not sure.

[Dick]

I don't know about the ones from "way back then' of which you speak, but I can verify that the edges are still made that way, as of the coins from the 50's. I have some, but don't recall the dates.