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Closing March 12, 2025
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    A44, Lot 248:

    Cornwall 2. County. Low Hall. Copper halfpenny. 14.03 gm. 28.5 mm. Engraved by Rambert Dumarest (attributed to Droz by both D&H and Waters). Manufactured by Boulton. 1791. A druid's head left, oak wreath around / Shield of arms, a coronet above; CORNISH COPPER HALF AN OUNCE 1791 around. FDC; original color, tiny rim flaw at 11' reverse.

    Ex Salyards Collection.

     

    Cornwall 2 is a beautifully designed high-quality product of Boulton’s Soho Mint. Dalton and Hamer, as well as the detailed supplement published by Waters in 1954, both note that the piece is from Boulton but they credit Droz with the dies. Yet, the initials “R D” (Rambert Dumarest) are plain underneath the image.

    In many respects, this particular piece merits a place in any specialized collection of the development of the Soho Mint and the work of Matthew Boulton. 

    By 1792, Jeanne-Pierre Droz was long gone from Birmingham and Matthew Boulton’s mint. Initially hired to bring his expertise to help the Soho Mint thrive, by 1790 Boulton had become exasperated with Droz and Droz went back to France in March 1791. After investing both large sums of money and his and his staff’s time and energy in trying to bring the mint to a viable level for the production of half pence, 1789 found Boulton frustrated and a major source of his frustration was Droz. Richard Doty describes it well. 

    “Monsieur Droz symbolized all of Boulton’s difficulties. He was being paid a handsome salary (which represented a dead loss for the time being); and he was not even performing the labour for which he had been engaged. He complained about everything….“ (The Soho Mint and the Industrialization of Money. BNS 2. London. 1998. P 37.)

    The account of the break between Boulton and Droz takes several long pages of text describing a bitter and drawn-out break. But Droz finally left and Boulton hired a French engraver, Rambert Dumarest, to fill in as the engraver for the Cornish halfpenny which finally came out in 1792.

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