The best-known evasions appeared in the 18th century in Great Britain and Ireland.
[1] To counteract the large numbers of underweight, counterfeit copper[2] halfpennies and farthings circulating in 18th-century Britain, Section 6 of the Counterfeiting Coin Act 1741 made it a crime, punishable by 2 years' imprisonment, to “make, coin or counterfeit any brass or copper money, commonly called a halfpenny or a farthing”; this act was followed by the even stricter Counterfeiting of Copper Coin Act 1771, which made the passing of counterfeit coppers a felony.
[1] These pieces usually had a bust on the obverse – often resembling King George III, or some other well known figure – and a seated Britannia or a harp (for Ireland) on the reverse.
The reverse legend “Britannia” might be replaced by something like “Briton’s Happy Isles.” Counterfeiters often made their coins look quite worn, some would not add a date or only put a partial date on the die.
The makers of these lightweight pieces did not worry about being caught, as the law did not cover “evasions.”[2][3] In addition to circulating in the British Isles, large quantities of evasion (and other) counterfeit copper coins were also shipped to British America and the United States, particularly from the mid-18th century and especially after 1771.