Following the recent publication of eleven card tokens, ten being penny size and one a halfpenny size, all bearing on one side a printed image of a very worn bun head penny of Queen Victoria, as might be expected further examples have been found. Background searches have also uncovered more details for some of the issuers already presented. This note will begin with details of the new pieces, followed by new information about the pieces in the previous note.
Author: BNS Blog Coordinator
A 17th Century Token Die Engraver’s Conundrum – Jo. Broxup of Manchester – Gary Oddie & Nigel Clark
This note presents a recently discovered seventeenth century token issued by John Broxup of Manchester. The reverse legend is the latin Motto Quicunque Vult. As with most tokens and coins of the period the legend is engraved upper case and U is replaced with V. This leads to a difficulty with the word Vult which should be rendered VVLT which looks and reads oddly and the engraver has chosen to render the upper case U as such. Apart from tokens with legends in script, this is the only known appearance of an upper case U in this series. Apart from a short period in the 1730s and 1740s, the regal coinage also replaces U with a Latinised V up to the 1790s. Most recently this difficulty has been avoided on the new coinage of Charles III by the use of a hybrid English-Latin legend – CHARLES III D.G.REX F.D.
‘New Scotch Tokens’ – Tracing the Irish Dissenters’ Ticket to the Table – David S. Dunlop
Well underway, a projected new Catalogue & History of Irish Communion Tokens will chart the history of the Irish Presbyterian’s ‘token of admission’ to the Eucharist. Giving a brief overview of the history of Irish Communion tokens, this ‘working paper’ calls for engagement and input, as set out in the penultimate paragraph.
Documentary Evidence for Hampshire Seventeenth Century Token Issues – Susan Stewart
In the late 1970s the author’s father, Harold J.M. Good, began a search for the surviving dies used to strike seventeenth century tokens. When he passed away in 1984,(1) the project was continued and updated with new findings. The results will be published in the next year or two. The following notes present two contemporary documents relating to the town issues of seventeenth century tokens from Hampshire. The first is a series of transcriptions from 1669 to 1680 for Southampton Corporation, found in the Southampton Assembly Book,(2,3) and is published here for the first time. The second revisits a document from the Winchester Book of Ordinances from 1669,(4) first published by H.S. Gill in 1889.(5) Several minor discrepancies were found between Gill’s transcription and the new readings. Gill’s original transcription is reproduced with corrections, along with images from the microfiche.
Four Pieces – Seventeenth Century? English? Tokens? – Paul Withers
The four pieces presented here are all from the collection of the late Dr. David Rogers. Although they are obviously connected, they were not acquired at the same time. Though all are Æ and the style is very similar to that of 17th century tokens, their origins remain elusive.
An Early Norman Period ‘Productive site’ in Norfolk – Mike Cuddeford
Early medieval ‘productive’ sites are well known, but usually feature coins from the ‘sceatta’ series. Later broad-flan pennies are much scarcer and it is not until the late 12th century that multiple site finds tend to occur. This article places on a record a group of coins that, most unusually, appear to indicate an early Norman period ‘productive’ site and as such is noteworthy.
An Unusual Series of Card Advertising Tokens c.1930? – Gary Oddie
This note presents a group of eleven cardboard advertising tokens which bear a printed design on one side of a photographic image of a very worn Victorian bun head coin. One is a half penny and the other ten are pennies. Background research on the issuers reveals a range of business activities, and possible dates of issue, as well as some common factors. The rarity of the pieces and geographical spread across the country means that these pieces would not normally be brought together for study. If any readers can add further tokens or fill the gaps in the business histories, please get in touch via the blog.
An Unrecorded Series of Skit Notes – William Seville and his Striking Likenesses – Gary Oddie
Skit notes are items resembling banknotes but were never intended to be used as money. The most well-known of these is the “anti-hanging” note produced by George Cruikshank in 1818. Banknote catalogues usually have a separate section for these, often quite rare, pieces of printed ephemera.The recent acquisition of a skit note that is not catalogued, has prompted research into the life and career of its issuer. This, along with the discovery of two more unrecorded notes from the same issuer, but with different dates and addresses, suggests that several, and possibly many others are likely to have existed.
Coins from the Mint at Bury St Edmunds – David Palmer
A recently introduced website which details the coins from the Bury mint is described in the attached note. …. or here to go directly to the Bury website
Bedfordshire Tokens, Tickets, Checks and Passes – Supplement 1- Gary Oddie
Publishing a book in late 2023 that could have had the title Bedfordshire Tokens – Everything that isn’t Seventeenth Century was always likely to lead to the discovery of new pieces. This note adds illustrations of a few pieces that were known at the time of writing, but had not been located for photography, along with the predicted new examples of tokens used by farmers and Market Gardeners along the Greensands Ridge.
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