Owner Comments:
NUMISMATIC DETAILS OF THE STRACHAN AND COMPANY TOKENS
(a) General
There is no record of the separate minting of Strachan and Company tokens. There are four distinct types,
each in the denominations 3D, 6D, 1/-, and 2/-. The four types are designated A, B, C, and D.
Type A was clearly the most worn variety, and hence the oldest. They were originally minted as local
currency through the trading company performing similar type duties of that of a bank.
The MH variety was solely to satisfy the desires of an independent-feeling shareholder Mr. Rupert Jackson
who ran the Mountain Home store.
The S&Co thus preceded the more widely accepted and sought after John Sidney Clunies-Ross IV
currency tokens of the Cocos Islands, issued in the early 1900’s, by about forty years.
It was only in the late 1800’s that a shift in emphasis towards barter tokens led to the addition of the
qualifying words “In goods” to the later S&Co issues, types C and D. Type D was clearly the most recent
issue, many of the specimens handled being almost in uncirculated condition. The “MH” variety, type B,
was minted specifically for use in the mountains nine miles from the town Umzimkhulu, South Africa.
Judging from the extent of wear of the specimens handled, we believe that the designations Types I, II, and
III used by E.J. Maynard in her description of three of the four types (Tokens of Southern Africa, by E.J.
Maynard) were the first to circulate.