1733 Patt 2P Rosa Americana, BN (Proof)

P. Scott Rubin: The 1733 Rosa Americana Proof Twopence struck in Copper is an extremely rare coin with only four or five specimens known. This coin was not struck under the agreement reached with King George I of England, which gave permission for William Wood to issue Halfpence, One Pence and Two Pence coins for the British Colonies of North American in the early 1720’s.

The 1733 Rosa Americana Proof Twopence was a pattern for an attempt at inducing King George II to grant a coinage contract for America. However, nothing other than Patterns seems to have come from it.

The four known examples are all Proofs. One is in the British Museum Collection. The other three are in private collections.

Ron Guth:

The 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence Pattern was struck nine years after the last of the regular issue Rosas. The design is exceptional, with high relief details on both sides. The obverse features a bust of George II facing left. On the reverse a crown hovers above a rose. The words UTILE DILCI (Latin for "Useful and Agreeable") appear on a banner on either side of the rose's stem. The legend ROSA AMERICANA and the date appear in an arc along the upper half of the reverse.

At least five examples are known of this rare pattern, but two are impounded in institutional collections. John Ford owned two examples, and the third example (from the Garrett Collection) disappeared into the Archangel Collection and did not reappear on the market until October 2018.

According to the writer of the 1890 catalog of the Lorin Parmelee Collection, "Mr. Parmelee has always considered [his] piece to be the most valuable and interesting coin in his collection." That says a lot, considering that Parmelee owned an 1822 $5 , the gold 1792 Washington pattern, and several of the 1783 Nova Constellation Patterns!