East India Company, Bombay Presidency, Early coinages: English design, copper Double-Pice in the name of George II (1727-60), GR type, 1728, crown dividing g r, bomb below, rev. avspicio regis et senatus angliæ [Under the patronage of the King and Parliament of England] in four lines, floral ornament above, 18.24g/9h (Prid. 99 [Sale, lot 467]; Stevens 2.97; KM. 166). Struck slightly off-centre, otherwise good very fine and extremely rare, especially in this condition; only four specimens recorded by Snartt in private hands £700-£900

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Puddester Collection.

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Collection

E. Wodak (Melbourne) Collection, ticket
C.E. Pitchfork Collection, Part III, Noble Numismatics Auction 48 (Melbourne), 11-13 July 1995, lot 2078 [acquired c. 1970-1]
Bt A.P. de Clermont (London) February 1997.

Owner’s ticket.

Erich Wodak (1902-58), numismatist and electronic engineer, b Uherské Hradiste, CZ, became a naturalised Briton in 1949, although his work as a linguist in World War II meant he worked principally in Malaya and Australia. A specialist in Indian coins whose aim was to revise James Atkins’ 1889 work on the British Colonial series, at the time of his early death he was Curator of Coins and Medals at the National Gallery, Melbourne.

In the two decades prior to 1728 the need for small change in Bombay was met by tin coins, but in that year a large shipment of copper goz was received from Persia. The decision was taken to strike a new series of copper coins, initially by overstriking the goz issues and then by restriking them into double pice, pice and half-pice over several years, up to and including 1749