Owner Comments:
Gloucestershire Gloucester DH #17
Obverse: An east view of St. John the Baptist Church with the spire behind ST. JOHN'S CHURCH above
Reverse: The Arms of the Borough of Gloucester surmounted by a Cap of Maintenance with Ottley in script below THE ARMS OF GLOUCESTER
Edge: Plain
Diesinker: Thomas Wyon (Obverse) and John Ottley (Reverse)
Manufacturer: John Ottley
Rarity: Extremely Rare
St John the Baptist church, Northgate street was built in 1734 on the site of an ancient church. The tower and spire are from the original church. The church was restored in 1882.
One of the 11 Gloucester building tokens originally made for collectors in 1797 by Peter Kempson. John Ottley was a medalist working in Birmingham during the first half of the 19th century. He obtained the Peter Kempson dies for the Gloucester building medalets and struck his own examples using a new reverse dies of his creation, totaling 9 Gloucester tokens. Normally found struck in white metal, the copper Gloucester Ottley examples are quite rare and the copper Birmingham examples are exceptionally rare. Die rust and issues at the rim are evident, these issues can also be seen to a lesser degree on white metal examples.
Atkins: Gloucestershire 18
Bt. Davisson E-Auction #51, 23 July 2025
Ex: Heritage Sale 23 April 2020