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.
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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.
From Beldibi to Bedfordshire – 11,000 Years of Tokens Part 2. Pushing the Boundaries – Gary oddie
This Blog, the second in a series of three, presents a very brief overview of a conference held at Warwick University in 2017 – Tokens: Culture, Connections, Communities. The series of talks took the concept of tokens back to the early classical civilisations and with the work of Denise Schmandt-Besserat to the neolithic and the first appearance of locally organised societies, record keeping and the beginnings of writing.A clay envelope dating from 5500-4500 BC is probed using 3-D X-ray tomography to allow the tokens inside to be imaged, along with the maker’s thumbprint in the clay. …. or click here for part 1
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.
Counterfeit Shillings of George III 1816-1820 (iv) A Contemporary Mould Revisited – Gary Oddie
A short note looking again at a contemporary mould for counterfeit George III shillings.
Counterfeit Shillings of George III 1816-1820 (ii) The Observed Metals – Gary Oddie
The previous note presented details of the reference collection of 1,490 counterfeit shillings of George III dated 1816-1820. This note will look at the metal composition and plating based on the data gathered in the previous spreadsheet. Simple plots of the weights and densities of the pieces allow them to be separated into three groups ‘tin’, ‘copper alloys, brass and copper’ and ‘silver’ counterfeits, mostly consistent with visual observations.
Willam Hebbs of Woburn, Bedfordshire – Gary Oddie
This note presents the first new Bedfordshire token to be added to the county list since 2002. The find location, Milton Bryan, is just two and a half miles south east of Woburn. A likely candidate for William Hebbs has been found in genealogical records but no other details have been found. The piece will be catalogued as W/D 102A.
Some Insights into Medieval Die Production and Die Life – Part 1 – D.I. Greenhalgh
This is the first part of an article describing the production of a viking style hammered coin die from scratch.
Elias Neel Jersey Bank Token of 1812 – Hugh Pagan
This note explores the circumstances surrounding the manufacture of the Elias Neel Jersey Bank Token of 1812, seemingly known only from a single specimen of which the whereabouts cannot be traced today. It also discusses which of three Elias Neels living on the island of Jersey is most likely to have been the individual for whom the token was struck.
A Newly Discovered Cut Halfpenny Struck for Henry of Anjou, and some Observations on Die Variants for Mack’s type 253 – A.G. Bliss
During the 1140s, an unusual series of coins began to be produced in the Southwest of England. These pieces effectively combine an obverse design utilised on the ‘Watford’ pence of Stephen with the reverse of Henry I type XV pieces (quadrilateral on cross-fleury). Encountered in the names of Earls William/Robert of Gloucester and Patrick of Salisbury, these coins were also struck in the name of Henry of Anjou (the future Henry II) – son of Henry I’s daughter Matilda and Count Geoffrey of Anjou. This article brings to light a new cut halfpenny struck for the latter, and demonstrates that the type (those struck in the name of Henry) in fact encompasses several different die-groups.
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