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In his groundbreaking 1875 treatise, the renowned colonial scholar, Sylvester S. Crosby, said of the Myddelton Token that shares the same obverse die with the Copper Company Of Upper Canada muling pictured above: "In beauty of design and execution, the tokens are unsurpassed by any piece issued for American circulation".
Philip Parry Price Myddelton nee Philip Parry Price was the motivating force behind the creation of the extraordinary unmuled pieces. He was an ambitious English entrepreneur and physician, who traveled to America to acquire a large tract of land along the Ohio River in northern Kentucky, for the purpose of establishing a settlement there. Upon returning to Europe, he extensively advertised his project, and thereby succeeded in attracting at least 1,200 skilled tradesmen willing to abandon England in search of a better life. Myddelton realized that a circulating coinage would be essential to the success of his colony, and to that end, he retained the services of Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint in Birmingham England to produce the unmuled tokens. Although the dies were fashioned by an eminently talented engraver, Conrad Kuchler, Myddleton himself provided detailed specifications of all design elements he wanted incorporated into the final product. The token features scenes steeped in symbolism. The obverse contains an allegorical figure of Hope (representing Britain), to the viewers' left, sending her two children (emigrants Peace and Plenty) to America, symbolized by the welcoming goddess Liberty, bearing a Phrygian liberty cap on a pole. Adjacent to Liberty is a wreathed sapling, symbolic of growth, and a cornucopia, representative of the rich bounty of America. The periphery contains the language "British Settlement Kentucky", with the date 1796 at the bottom.
The reverse die of the Copper Company Of Upper Canada muling, was created at the behest of Matthew Boulton, without Myddelton's input, and probably without his knowledge or approval. It has been attributed to Noel-Alexandre Ponthon.
Aside from governmental resistance to the seditious imagery Myddelton chose for his original unmuled tokens, just before his departure to America to fulfill his dreams, Myddelton was arrested, indicted, and convicted for "enticing artificers to emigrate" under the provisions of a 1783 British law aimed at thwarting those who sought to entice skilled English craftsmen and artistic workers to move abroad. The one year sentence to be served at Newgate Prison originally handed down was extended for an additional two and a half years when Myddelton was unable to pay a 500 pound fine simultaneously imposed. This substantial delay sounded the death knell for his ill-fated plans for colonization.
The PCGS graded Proof 64 Myddelton/Copper Company Of Upper Canada Halfpenny muling, Ex Temple, pictured above is quite rare. It is estimated that between 6 to 8 examples exist. This would make them even more scarce than the 11 bronzed copper Myddelton Tokens, or the 53 of same, originally produced in silver . Because of their limited numbers, few believe the mulings were ever intended to circulate in the US or Canada. The best preserved is a Proof 66 BN specimen in a PCGS slab.
The Boulton/Watts Soho Mint likely fashioned these mulings for one or more of the following purposes: as a proposed token for a Canadian enterprise; as a sample to display the quality of their company's workmanship; or as a numismatic collectible.