___________________________________________________________________________________ This note presents a brief introduction to market gardening in Bedfordshire and a series of tokens, bearing only initials, that were used as receipts or tallies for each sack or basket of produce picked. Once understood, the initials allow the identity of the farmer and his location to be identified. Two pieces of documentary evidence are also presented, from the 1940s, that confirm the use of London Market checks as pickers’ tickets in the fields of Bedfordshire.
Tokens and Jettons
Illustrating Buckinghamshire Seventeenth Century Tokens – Gary Oddie
This note was started several years ago with the finding of some old printing blocks that showed seventeenth century tokens of Buckinghamshire. It is easy to take for granted the progress in technologies for photographing and printing images of coins over the past few decades. The processes used to be much more involved, and incorporating illustrations was the bottleneck and the main cost in the production of a printed work. The source of the 210 blocks was easily identified as Manton & Hollis (1933) and three “extras” were traced to Hollis (1937). The decision to use printing blocks was not obvious as that time, as options for collotype plates, screen printing and half-tones were widely in use in numismatic publishing (e.g. in the BNJ).
The Obverse Die for the Macniven and Cameron Imitation Spade Guinea c.1970 – Gary Oddie
This note has been prompted by the recent analysis of the die used to strike the obverse of the Imitation Spade Guinea (ISG) produced for the bicentenary of the Macniven and Cameron company in 1970. In the 19th century the company used many ISGs to advertise its ranges of pen nibs. The note traces the history of the study of ISGs and where further information about the company can be found. XRF analysis shows the die to be made from a high Nickel-Chrome steel with most surfaces contaminated with traces of brass (Copper and Zinc) from the tokens being struck. The die face, however, shows maybe 3% brass impregnated into the surface. This is likely metal dust trapped within the surface scratches and damage in the top few microns or tens of microns at the most.
Unrecorded 17th Century Tokens From W.S. Lincoln & Son – Gary Oddie
The chance find of an old sales catalogue, from W.S. Lincoln and Son, dedicated to 17th century tokens, and listing 1006 pieces has resulted in this short note. The list must have been published sometime between 1889 (Williamson published) and 1932 (Lincoln business failed). The 27 pieces listed as ‘not in Williamson” have been investigated to see if they had been rediscovered by the time of Michael Dickinson’s publication in 1986. With much help from Nigel Clark and Michael Dickinson, the list was solved, to leave just three pieces that have not been seen or catalogued since. They are out there somewhere.
Seventeenth Century Glasshouses – Gary Oddie
One of the main features of the seventeenth century token series, apart from its size, is the diversity of issuers and the potential for even a singular token to open up a window on people, trades and places that have been lost in the intervening years. A recent talk at the British Numismatic Society (Laura Burnett – April 2023) mentioned in passing the token issued at the Glasshouse at Calne in 1669 (Wilts W/D 35). This reminded me of some research I carried out over a decade ago into this token and seventeenth century glasshouses, which is revisited in this note.
A Seventeenth Century Truck System – Thomas Renolds of Colchester (Essex W/D 143) – Gary Oddie
Truck systems are often viewed as a product of the industrial revolution, where factory owners paid their workers with tokens and tickets that could only redeemed in the factory shop. An alternative form of truck system is where the workers are paid in kind by their employers – often using the employers products. One such case occurred in the seventeenth century when Thomas Renolds of Colchester paid his piece workers in cloth, which they could only sell at a loss. The workers took Renolds to court for the lost money, which he ultimately paid. Renolds was a wealthy merchant and also issued seventeenth century tokens. A die study reveals five obverse and five reverse dies and illustrates the eight known die combinations. A further die, noted by Judson in 1987, has not yet been seen and is suspected not to exist.
Manorial money? Three unusual lead tokens from St Mary Bourne, Hampshire – A.G. Bliss
Lead tokens are widespread finds across Britain, with most dating to the post medieval period. However, despite the relatively large numbers that exist, few can be dated closely or associated definitively with specific individuals. This note discusses a highly unusual group of three identical tokens from St Mary Bourne, Hampshire, presenting evidence for their production by a nearby manor controlled by the Priory of Winchester Cathedral.
Unrecorded White Metal 18th Century Tokens – Part 4 – Gary Oddie
The previous three notes published on the BNS blog highlighted several series of non-contemporary white-metal late 18th century tokens. Essentially all were found to be cast or struck copies, made using moulds or dies created from genuine tokens. At the 2022 Token Congress five further specimens were brought for analysis by Jeff Rock and Merfyn Williams. These are presented here and fit nicely into the groups presented previously, reconfirming there was a small number of prolific counterfeiters of white metal 18th century tokens, mostly in the early 20th century.
William Clowes and the Tokens For The King’s Evil – Gary Oddie
Much has already been written about the numismatic aspects of the King’s Evil. The gold angels of Charles I especially struck and pierced for the ceremony and the admission tickets and gold touch pieces of the time of Charles II and later are well known, but no convincing candidates for the earliest documented admission tokens have been put forward. This note will present three possible admission tokens used for the touching ceremony of Charles I.
A Mould for a 17th Century Lead Token – The Rose at Stony Lane, Southwark – Gary Oddie
The copper and brass tokens issued between 1648 and 1672 are well known and several of the original dies used to make them have survived. There is also a smaller, parallel series of cast lead tokens that started several decades earlier and finished about the same time with the introduction of a regal copper coinage in 1672. This note presents a copper alloy mould, found recently on the Thames foreshore, which was used to make a lead token for the Rose Tavern on Stony Lane, Southwark. The token is known and a specimen is illustrated.
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