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| F-1 |
Great Britain (Middlesex)
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1/4P (1790'S) GB D&H-1088 MIDDLESEX - SPENCE'S E: PLAIN
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NGC TOKEN MS 64 BN
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Spence's (ND) Garden of Eden farthing
REFERENCE: Middlesex D&H 1088
DIAMETER:
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER: James
MANUFACTURER:
RARITY:
OBVERSE: Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, "JAMES" below; "MAN OVER MAN HE MADE NOT LORD"
REVERSE: pig facing left trampling royal and church symbols, radiate cap above; "PIGS MEAT PUBLISHED BY T. SPENCE LONDON - - "
EDGE: plain
Thomas Spence was a schoolteacher from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Soon after arriving in London in late 1792 he was arrested for selling Tomas Paine's "Rights of Man". Undeterred by this experience he spent long periods of time in prison for selling radical books, pamphlets, newspapers and broadsheets upto his death in 1814. During 1793-1796 he published a periodical entitled "One Penny Worth of Pig’s Meat: Lessons for the Swinish Multitude" (a reference to Burke’s savage description of the British masses as “the swinish multitude”) advocating universal suffrage and land nationalization. Spence also described himself as 'the unfee'd Advocate of the disinherited seed of Adam' which might explain appearance of the Garden of Eden on this particular token.
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View Coin
| HP-1 |
Great Britain (Buckinghamshire-Slough)
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1/2P 1794 G.BRIT. D&H-22 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE - SLOUGH E: PLAIN
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NGC TOKEN MS 63 BN
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Till's 1794 Red Lion Inn halfpenny
REFERENCE: Buckinghamshire D&H 22
DIAMETER: 29mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER:
MANUFACTURER: WJ Taylor
RARITY: scarce (approx. 75 to 150 known)
OBVERSE: shield of six circled stars with "PRO REGE ET PATRIA" on banner below: "W. TILL. WINE & SPIRIT MERCHANT * 1794 *".
REVERSE: lion rampant facing left with legend: "RED LION INN HALFPENNY TOKEN SLOUGH BUCKS".
EDGE: plain
One (unconfirmed) source says this was actually made in the 1840's by W. J. Taylor for William Till, a coin dealer at 17 Great Russell Street, Covent Garden, London, who was the son of the pub's landlord. The rampant lion was used on the sign for the pub.
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View Coin
| HP-2 |
Great Britain (Hampshire-Gosport)
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1/2P 1794 G.BRIT D&H-41 HAMPSHIRE - GOSPORT E: PAYABLE AT I. IORDANS
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NGC TOKEN MS 65 BN
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Jordan's 1794 halfpenny
REFERENCE: Hampshire-Gosport DH-41
DIAMETER: 29 mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER:
MANUFACTURER:
RARITY: common (more than 150 known)
OBVERSE: armoured bust of a bearded Sir Bevois wearing a helmet, facing left; "PROMISSORY HALFPENNY" above
REVERSE: three-masted collier ship, right, with central mast pointing to center of "O"; "PRO BONO PUBLICO" above; "1794" in exergue
EDGE: “PAYABLE AT I. IORDANS DRAPERS GOSPORT X X”
John Jordan was a mercer (a merchant who deals in expensive textiles) and draper with premises in Gosport near Portsmouth.
Sir Bevois was a is a legendary but tragic English hero that dates from the 13th century. He was the son the count of Hampton (Southampton) and his young wife, a daughter of the king of Scotland. The countess asks a former suitor to send an army to murder Bevois' father, and being successful in the plot, she then marries her suitor. Feeling threatened with future vengeance by her ten-year-old son she decides to do away with him as well. He is saved from death by his faithful tutor, sold to heathen pirates, and eventually reaches the court of an eastern Mediterranean kingdom. After many amazing exploits he gets his final vengeance on his stepfather, but after succeeding to his inheritance he is again, driven into exile.
A collier is a flat-bottomed, bulk cargo ship designed to carry coal. As Gosport was a foundry and shipbuilding center it must have been a common sight in the area as the demands for coal would have been significant. It is worth noting that colliers are only shown on three Conder tokens, those of South Shields and Stockton (coal towns in the north of England) and at Gosport.
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View Coin
| HP-3 |
Great Britain (Middlesex)
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1/2P (1790'S)G.B. D&H-979 MIDDLESEX - NATIONAL E: MILLED \\\\
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NGC TOKEN MS 64 BN
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National Series: Princess of Wales 1795 halfpenny
REFERENCE: Middlesex D&H 979
DIAMETER: 28mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER:
MANUFACTURER:
RARITY: RR (approx 10–30 known)
OBVERSE: three quarter bust to left: "PRINCESS OF WALES"
REVERCE: crest of the Prince of Wales above a large portcullis with draw chains: “HALF PENNY 1795”
EDGE: milled \\\\\
Caroline, the Princess of Wales, was a very controversial and tragic figure. George, the playboy Prince of Wales, agreed to marry her sight unseen so Parliament would settle his lavish lifestyle debts even thought he was already secretly (and illegally) married to a Catholic woman. After their wedding, and his debts were repaid, he rebuked Caroline as ugly, dirty and crude. The Prince then made several attempts to divorce her and failed, but he did manage to restrict her access to their only child (Princess Charlotte, born 9 months after the marriage). Years later Caroline was even turned away at the door of his coronation upon his command even though they were still legally married. Still, she was as popular with the people as the Prince was not, and though they never reconciled she never disavowing her claim as Queen. After their daughter died in childbirth she returned to her home in Brunswick (Germany) and is buried there.
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| HP-4 |
Great Britain (Somersetshire-Bath)
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1/2P 1794 G.BRIT D&H-34 SOMERSETSHIRE - BATH
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NGC TOKEN MS 64 BN
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Gye's 1794 halfpenny
REFERENCE: Somersetshire-Bath D&H 34
DIAMETER: 30mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER: Thomas Wyon
MANUFACTURER: William Lutwyche
RARITY: common (more than 150 known)
OBVERSE: arms of the City of Bath with date below: "W. GYE PRINTER & STATIONER BATH 1794"
REVERSE: Benevolence directing her messenger to open a prison gate. In the foreground are some urns and in the sky the radiating words "GO FORTH": "REMEMBER THE DEBTORS IN ILCHESTER GOAL".
EDGE: "PAYABLE AT W. GYE'S PRINTER BATH X.X"
Issued for general circulation with original mintage of 41,200.
William Gye was an agent to the Ilchester debtors and visited the gaol weekly. When giving change at his shop Gye would call attention to a container on his counter to receive donations for the prisoners.
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View Coin
| HP-5 |
G.BRIT - SUSSEX
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1/2P 1795 G.BRIT D&h-7 SUSSEX - BRIGHTON E: PLAIN
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NGC MS 64 BN
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Spence's 1795 halfpenny
REFERENCE: Sussex (Brighton) D&H 9
DIAMETER: 31 mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER:
MANUFACTURER:
RARITY: scarce (approx 75-150 known)
OBVERSE: view of a castle under siege with mounted officer instructing gunners to fire, two cannonballs in the air and several on ground: "HALFPENNY" (same as Sussex DH-6 reverse); has characteristic "scratch" that was on the reused die
REVERSE: undersized die showing ships at sea and trophies of war, date below "1795"; characteristic die clashes
EDGE:
Thomas Spence described the obverse as an attack on the Bastille but the troops appear to be British and the building unlike the French prison destroyed by the Paris mob July 14, 1789.
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| HP-6 |
G.BRIT - WORCESTERSHIRE
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1/2P (1790'S)G.B. D&h-15b WORCESTERSHIRE - DUDLEY E: SPENCE DEALER IN COINS
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NGC MS 64 BN
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Spence's (ND) Dudley Castle/Highlander halfpenny
REFERENCE: Worcestershire DH-15b
DIAMETER:
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER: James
MANUFACTURER:
RARITY: R (30-75 known)
OBVERSE: distant view of Dudley Castle in ruins. "DUDLEY TOKEN" above, "JAMES" at bottom
REVERSE: Highlander. "THE GALLANT GARB OF SCOTLAND *"
EDGE: "* LONDON * SPENCE DEALER * IN * COINS"
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| HP-7 |
Great Britain (Yorkshire)
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copper 1/2 P 1793 (Soho) Yorkshire D&H-41
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Still to be graded ...
1793 halfpenny
REFERENCE: Yorkshire D&H-41
DIAMETER: mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER:
MANUFACTURER: Matthew Boulton, Soho Mint
Rarity: common (more than 150 known).
OBVERSE: Bishop Blasé
REVERSE: Leeds Cloth Hall
EDGE:
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View Coin
| P-1 |
Great Britain (Herefordshire)
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PENNY 1796 G.BRIT D&H-3 HEREFORDSHIRE - HEREFORD E: PLAIN
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NGC TOKEN MS 63 BN
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Milton's 1796 penny
REFERENCE: Herefordshire D&H 3
DIAMETER: mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER: J Milton
MANUFACTURER: J Milton ?
RARITY: R
OBVERSE: a bull trampling on its broken chains; "JUNE 3D. 1796" above "J MILTON" in exergue
REVERSE: an apple tree in fruit with a plough in the foreground, all surrounded by a thick wreath of oak leaves and acorns
EDGE: plain
This token was struck to commemorate a Mr. Biddulph’s return as a Member of Parliament on June 3rd 1796. The bull breaking his chains represents the county bursting free from its Tory shackles upon the election of a Whig. The apple tree alludes to Herefordshire’s cider industry, and the plough to it's agriculture.
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View Coin
| P-2 |
G.BRIT - SOMERSETSHIRE
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PENNY 1794 G.BRIT D&h-8 SOMERSETSHIRE - BATH E: ON DEMAND WE PROMISE
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NGC MS 64 RB
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Lambe's 1794 Penny
REFERENCE: Somersetshire-Bath D&H 8
DIAMETER: 31 mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER: Arnold ?
MANUFACTURER: William Lutwyche ?
RARITY: RRR (less than 10 known)
OBVERSE: figure of camel walking left carrying a load on it’s back under a cloud with sun rays, star below: "TEAS COFFEE SPICES & SUGAR."
REVERSE: view of London's Old East India House with "INDIA HOUSE" above and date below "1794": "M. LAMBE & SON TEA-DEALERS & GROCERS BATH *"
EDGE: "ON DEMAND WE PROMISE TO PAY ONE PENNY * "
Issued for general circulation
Mary Lambe & Son were grocers and tea dealers of Stall Street in Bath. The camel beneath the rays of the eastern sun probably refers to the spices sold; it is also the crest of the Grocers’ Company. The use of the camel in late 18th Century art was a common one owing to the first major European explorations of the Near East during that period. It was intended to convey to the viewer a feel of exotic imports from the East.
The building shown on the reverse is the ornate Georgian Old East India House Tea Exchange building located on Leadenhall Street, London, which was built in 1729. India House was the London headquarters of the East India Company which ruled British India until 1858 when the British government took control of the company's possessions in India. The first East India House on the site was an Elizabethan mansion, previously known as Craven House, which the Company first occupied in 1648. This was completely rebuilt in 1726 and further remodelled and extended in 1796 and 1800. It was demolished in 1861.
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View Coin
| Scot HP-1 |
Great Britain - Scotland (Angusshire - Dundee)
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1/2P (1790'S) GB D&H-12 ANGUSSHIRE - DUNDEE E: PLAIN
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NGC TOKEN MS 64 BN
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Croom's ND (1795) halfpenny
REFERENCE: Angusshire-Dundee D&H 12
DIAMETER: 29 mm
WEIGHT: 9.9 g
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER: Noël-Alexandre Ponthon
MANUFACTURER: Matthew Boulton (Soho Mint)
RARITY: common (more than 150 known)
OBVERSE: City of Dundee coat-of-arms: ""PAYABLE AT W. CROOMS", "HIGH STREET DUNDEE"
REVERSE: inscription: "SELLS WHOLESALE WOOLEN & LINEN DRAPERY GOODS WATCHES &c &c CHEAP"
EDGE: plain
William Croom was a wholesale dealer of drapery goods, watches and sundry articles doing business out of the Union Hall on the High Street in Dundee, Scotland .... cheapness appears to have been his overriding concern. Not much is known of him, but we do know in April 1791 he married Anne Speid, a local merchant’s daughter and later ‘the lawful daughter of the deceased James Speid, Merchant Burgess of Dundee'. He attained the estate of the Merchant Burgess himself in October 1794 and became a significant Dundee merchant family by the early part of the 19th century before gradually disappearing from prominence.
The above token (DH-12) was intended for general circulation with a total mintage of 26,437. An additional 27,048 tokens (DH-13) were also minted by Boulton in early 1796. Afterwards Crooms complained to Boulton about costs due to a rise in the price of copper. He then turned to Kempson (apparently a cheaper manufacturer) who produced similar tokens (DH 14,15) without using a collar and at a lighter weight after his engraver, Wyon, had laboriously copied the original design.
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| Scot HP-2 |
Great Britain - Scotland (Inverness)
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1/2 P 1794 Inverness D&H-2
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Still to be graded ...
1794 halfpenny
REFERENCE: Inverness D&H-2
DIAMETER: mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER:
MANUFACTURER: Matthew Boulton, Soho Mint
Rarity: common (more than 150 known).
OBVERSE: rose and thistle
REVERSE: cornucopia
EDGE:
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| Scot HP-3 |
Great Britain - Scotland (Lothian)
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1/2 p 1790 Lothian D&H-27
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Still to be graded ...
1790 halfpenny
REFERENCE: Lothian D&H-27
DIAMETER: mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER:
MANUFACTURER:
Rarity: common (more than 150 known).
OBVERSE: St. Andrew with cross
REVERSE: Edinburgh CoA, anchor
EDGE:
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| Scot HP-4 |
Great Britain - Scotland (Lothian - Edinburgh)
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1/2P 1796 SCOT. D&H-14a LOTTHIAN - CAMPBELL'S E: PLAIN
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NGC TOKEN MS 62 BN
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Campbell's 1796 halfpenny
REFERENCE: Lothian-Edinburgh D&H 14a
DIAMETER: 29mm
WEIGHT:
COMPOSITION: copper
DIESINKER:
MANUFACTURER:
Rarity: common (more than 150 known). D&H rated as R (30–75 known)
OBVERSE: detailed portrait of a jewelled Turk’s head smoking a pipe with the artist’s name "JAMES" below: "PAYABLE AT CAMPBELLS SNUFF SHOP"
REVERSE: snuff jar labeled "37" between two thistles, two crossed pipes above and date below: "SAINT ANDREWS STREET EDINBURGH 1796"
EDGE: plain
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