the surplus of copper coins was used up, and in 1717 a new contract was signed and a Royal Warrant issued for the production of a new halfpenny. The halfpennies struck in 1717 and 1718 looked slightly odd as they were smaller, thicker and somewhat lighter than the previous issues, weighing 9.4–10.3 grams with a diameter of 25–27 millimetres, but they were well-struck with high-relief features of the right-facing head of King George and the inscription GEORGIVS REX on the obverse, and Britannia with the inscription BRITANNIA and the date in the exergue beneath Britannia. The 1717–1718 issue is known as the dump halfpenny. For the 1719–1724 issue, the size of the coin was increased to 26–29 millimetres, though with the same weight of metal as before. King George II's (1727–1760) halfpennies were the most prolific issue yet, but to them must be added a huge range of counterfeits (and pieces similar to counterfeits but with markedly different legends from the real coins, so that the manufacturers could avoid accusations of counterfeiting). Many genuine coins were melted down and underweight fabrications produced from the molten metal. It is difficult for people who use a modern regulated currency to appreciate the extent to which counterfeiting had debased the currency – for long periods of time, counterfeits outnumbered genuine coins. Halfpennies were produced in all years between 1729 and 1754, with the exception of 1741. They weighed 9.7–10.3 grams and had a diameter of 28–30 millimetres. The obverse showed the left-facing head of King George and the inscription GEORGIVS II REX on the obverse, and Britannia with the inscription BRITANNIA and the date in the exergue beneath Britannia. Counterfeit coinage In the reign of King George III (1760–1820) the first issue of halfpennies did not come until 10 years after the king's accession, in 1770. Counterfeiting was rampant, and in 1771 the issuance of counterfeit copper coin became a serious crime; this however had little effect and for the next twenty years or so the majority of copper so-called coins in circulation were forgeries. In March 1782 a female counterfeiter was hanged, then fixed to a stake and burned before the debtor's door at Newgate prison in London. In a letter to Lord Hawkesbury of 14 April 1789, Matthew Boulton commented "In the course of my journeys, I observe that I receive upon an average two-thirds counterfeit halfpence for change at toll-gates,