Owner Comments:
Middlesex Spence DH #833
Obverse: A man hanging from a gibbet with a church in the distance END OF PAIN
Reverse: An open book, inscribed THE WRONGS OF MAN in four lines on the left page, and JANY. 21 1793 in three lines upon the right page
Edge: Milled
Diesinker: John G. Hancock Jr.
Manufacturer: John G. Hancock Jr.
Rarity: Common
The obverse is a macabre pun on the name Thomas Paine suggesting the same fate awaited the author of Common Sence, The Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason. The reverse design parodies Paine’s The Rights of Man as the Wrongs of Man and the date refers to the execution of the French King Louis XVI (21 January, 1793) and the declaration of the French Republic.
Incorrectly listed as a Spence production mirroring his End of Pit hanging man tokens, various End of Pain tokens were struck by Paul Skidmore, William Lutwyche, William Williams and John Hancock.
Atkins: Not Local 133
Bt. Stacks Bowers Sale, 2 November 2023