Part 6

_Legend._ On the former, GEORGIVS IIII D. G. BRITANNIAR. F. D. Latter, GEORGIVS IV DEI GRATIA.

REVERSE.--_Type._ Crown, St. George on horseback, undraped, helmeted, loose vest flying behind, in his right hand a dagger, his left holding the reins; under the horse, a dragon, a broken lance lying beside, no legend, date in exergue, edge, DECUS, etc. This coin is of most beautiful workmanship. Half-crown, early, royal arms; on some in plain square shield, crowned, encircled by the garter, with motto, HONI, etc., or ornamented shield, crowned, a rose beneath, and a thistle on one side, and on the other a shamrock, no legend; date on the former, with ANNO.; later, royal shield, beautifully mantled.

Early, Shilling and Sixpence as the Half-crowns; later, royal crown and crest, a lion passant-guardant, crowned; beneath is the rose, thistle and shamrock. This is commonly known as the “lion shilling.”

_Legend._ Later, BRITANNIARVM REX FIDEI DEFENSOR.

_Gold._ Five-pound-piece, Double-sovereign, Sovereign, and Half-sovereign, bust as before; reverse, George and dragon; or royal shield.

_Copper._ Pennies, Halfpennies, and Farthings; early, bust profile, laureated, draped or undraped; Pence and Halfpence, GEORGIVS IV DG REX.; Farthings, GEORGIVS IIII DEI GRATIA; Pence and Halfpence; Irish, harp, crowned, HIBERNIA. and date; Farthing, Britannia seated on a rock, facing the right, helmeted, in her left hand the trident, in her right, which rests on the shield, an olive branch, lion at her feet, no water in distance, date in exergue; later, Pence, Halfpence, and Farthings, Britannia seated helmeted, left hand the trident, right resting on shield, no olive branch, nor lion, beneath the figure, the rose, thistle, and shamrock, BRITANNIAR REX FID. DEF. A Half-farthing for Ceylon, and a one third of a Farthing, for Malta, were struck in 1827-8, and are rare.

WILLIAM IV. (1830 to 1837.)

DENOMINATIONS.--_Silver._ Crown, Half-crown, Shilling, Sixpence, Groat or Fourpence, Threepence, Twopence, Penny, Three-halfpence. _Gold._ Double-sovereign, Sovereign, Half-sovereign. _Copper._ Penny, Halfpenny, Farthing.

OBVERSE.--_Type._ Dexter bust profile, undraped, hair short.

_Legend._ GVLIELMVS IIII D. G. BRITANNIAR. REX F. D.

REVERSE.--_Type._ Half-crown, ermine robe surmounted by the crown, tied at the corners with cord and tassels, on the robe are the royal arms in a plain square shield, beneath which is the collar and badge of the Order of the Garter; dated with the word ANNO.; Shilling and Sixpence, within a wreath formed by branches of olive and oak is the value, ONE SHILLING.--SIXPENCE. in two lines, a crown above, beneath the wreath the date; Fourpence, figure of Britannia, FOUR PENCE, date in exergue. Maundy money, value, crowned, within a wreath of oak branches.

_Gold._ All the same bust as on the silver. Five-pound-piece, a pattern piece only; Double-sovereign, with arms, with mantle, garter, and crown; Sovereign, Half-sovereign, bust as before; reverse, royal arms in ornamental shield.

_Copper._ Pence, Halfpence, and Farthings, bust as before, date under the head, GULIELMUS IIII DEI GRATIA; reverse, Britannia, as last coinage of George IV.; beneath the figure, rose, thistle, and shamrock, BRITANNIAR REX. FID. DEF. Several colonial and other coins were also struck in silver and copper.

VICTORIA. (1837.)

DENOMINATIONS.--_Silver._ Crown, Half-crown, Florin or Two-shilling piece, Shilling, Sixpence, Groat or Fourpence, Threepence, Twopence, Penny. _Gold._ Five-pound-piece, Double-sovereign or Two-pound-piece, Sovereign, Half-sovereign. _Copper._ Penny, Halfpenny, Farthing, Half-farthing. _Bronze._ Penny, Halfpenny, and Farthing.

OBVERSE.--_Type._ Crown and Half-crown. Sinister bust profile of the queen, undraped, round the head two plain bands, hair parted on the forehead, carried over the top of the ear, and all gathered together at the back of the head. The Half-crown has the fore hair plaited immediately before it joins the back hair. None of these have been issued for home currency since 1851. Florin. Sinister bust profile of the queen, crowned with an open arched crown, elegantly draped over the shoulders. Shilling, Sixpence, etc., bust same as Half-crown.

_Legend._ Crown and Half-crown, VICTORIA DEI GRATIA. Date under the head. Florin, first issue, VICTORIA REGINA, 1849; later issue, =Victoria: d: g: britt: reg: f: d:= and date as =mdccclxviii=. Shilling and sixpence, VICTORIA DEI GRATIA BRITANNIAR REG. F. D. Fourpence and Maundy money, VICTORIA D. G. BRITANNIAR. REGINA F. D.

REVERSE.--_Type._ Crown and Half-crown, royal arms quarterly, 1 and 4, England, 2, Scotland, 3, Ireland, shield plain, crowned, within a wreath formed of two olive branches tied together at the bottom by a ribband; beneath the shield, the rose, thistle, and shamrock. Florin, first issue, in a tressure of eight arches, whose cusps have trefoil terminations, within the inner circle, four crowned shields arranged as a cross, first and third England, second Scotland, fourth Ireland. In the centre a rose; the crowns extending through the legend to the outside edge of the coin. In the four angles are, respectively, two roses, a thistle and a shamrock. Later issues, similar to the other, with a trefoiled quatrefoil instead of rose in the centre. Shilling and Sixpence; value in two lines, within a wreath formed of a branch of olive and an oak branch tied together with a ribband, above the value the royal crown, beneath the wreath the date. Fourpence, figure of Britannia seated, helmeted, in her left hand the trident, her right resting on the shield, date in exergue. Maundy money, value, crowned, within a wreath of oak branches and date.

_Legend._ Crown and Half-crown, BRITANNIARVM REGINA FID. DEF. Florin, first issue, ONE FLORIN ONE TENTH OF A POUND; later issues, =One florin one tenth of a pound=. Shilling and Sixpence, the words ONE SHILLING, and SIXPENCE, within the wreath of laurel and oak, beneath which is the date. Fourpence, FOUR PENCE. Threepence, figure 3 crowned.

The most beautiful of our modern coins is a Crown-piece struck in 1847, from dies engraved by Wyon. It is in somewhat low relief, and bears on the obverse an exquisite profile portrait of the queen, to the left, filling up the entire diameter of the coin. Her Majesty wears an open four-arched crown; the hair, being plaited, is brought down below the ear, and fastened at the back of the head; shoulders and bosom draped with delicate and elaborately ornamented lace, pearls, and jewels, the portion of the robe visible being diapered with roses, thistles, and shamrocks in lozenges. _Legend._ =Victoria dei gratia britanniar. reg: f: d=. Reverse: within the inner circle four shields (two England, one Scotland, one Ireland), arranged as a cross, within a tressure of eight arches; each shield crowned, the crowns extending through the legend and to extremity of the coin. In the centre the star of the Order of the Garter, and in the angles between the shields, which are diapered, a rose twice repeated, a thistle, and a shamrock; the spandrils and the cusps trefoiled. _Legend_, =tueatur unita deus anno dom. mdcccxlvii=. Round the edge =decus· et· tutamen· anno· regni· undecim=. This, usually known as the “gothic crown,” was not put in circulation.

_Gold._ Sovereign, and Half-sovereign; obverse, same bust as the silver, VICTORIA DEI GRATIA, and date; reverse, Sovereign, royal arms, as the Half-crown; later issues, St. George and the Dragon as on those of George IV., and date; Half-sovereign, royal shield as before, without the wreath, mantled, crowned, BRITANNIARVM REGINA FID. DEF.

_Copper._ Farthings; obverse, same as Sovereign; reverse, figure of Britannia, as before, with the rose, thistle, and shamrock beneath, BRITANNIAR REG. FID. DEF.; Half and Quarter-farthings have also been struck for the colonies to supersede the use of cowries.

_Bronze._ Obverse: beautifully laureated profile bust of the queen, hair tied behind, draped over the shoulders; the portrait filling up the diameter of the coin; legend, VICTORIA D: G: BRITT: REG: F: D: Reverse: figure of Britannia, helmeted and draped, holding a trident in her left hand, and her right resting on a shield of the union; in the distance, on one side, the Eddystone Lighthouse, on the other a ship in full sail. _Legend_: ONE PENNY, date in exergue, 1860, _et seq_. A large number of pattern pieces for coins of various values, and in all the metals, have at one time or other during this reign been prepared and struck, and are of the highest interest for the cabinets of collectors.

TRADERS’ TOKENS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

TRADERS’ TOKENS.

The Traders’ Tokens of this kingdom, properly so-called, are confined, in issue, to the seventeenth, eighteenth, and early part of the nineteenth centuries--those of the first of these periods being the most numerous as well as, in most respects, the most interesting. Though not coins in the ordinary sense, not having been issued by kings or governments, they play a more important part in the history of the country than even the regal pieces do, and the information to be derived from their study is not only valuable but in many instances entertaining.

Coins, the currency of nations, as I have, on another occasion, observed, are hoarded up and studied, and constantly referred to in illustration of historical facts, or as corroborations in cases of doubtful points; and their value, admitted on all hands, cannot be too highly estimated. They, however, tell but of princes and nationalities, not of the people. The coins of Greece and Rome tell of events, of changes, and of wars, and become, when properly studied, a complete epitome of the history of the great nations to which they belong. Those of our own country, however, have not that recommendation--they become simply, and solely, matters of regal chronology. From the Norman Conquest to the present hour not one event does an English coin record, not one national trait does it exhibit, and not one matter connected with national history or the people does it illustrate.

Not so with Traders’ Tokens. Issued _by_ the people, they tell _of_ the people, and become imperishable records of that most important estate of the realm. They indicate to us their occupations and their skill; their customs and their modes of life; their local governments; their guilds and trade companies; their habits and sentiments; their trades, their costume, their towns, their families, and their homes. Pity it is that these lasting and reliable records and adjuncts to national history are, as I have just said, confined to some two centuries of our historical annals--but of those two periods (and especially of the earliest) they are, assuredly, among the more interesting and important of illustrations.

In Anglo-Saxon and mediæval times the want of small coins--that is, a currency representing a small value--was much felt, and this gave rise to the occasional issue of spurious, or rather base, coins to supply the deficiency, as it was found the smaller pieces--for instance, the pennies when broken up for use as halfpence and farthings--were unfit for general use among the rough-handed population.

In the reigns of Edward VI. and Mary the issue of a base-metal currency gave rise to considerable dissatisfaction and fraud, and under Elizabeth, who issued three-halfpence and three-farthing pieces, that spurious currency was declared no longer current. Despite the issuing, however, of these three-halfpenny and three-farthing pieces, the want of halfpennies and farthings was still so seriously felt by the entire population, that housekeepers, chandlers, grocers, mercers, vintners, and most other traders were impelled, for conscience’ sake, to the issue of private tokens of lead, pewter, latten, tin, and even leather, for the purposes of trade. These were issued by the traders, and commodities in exchange could only be had from their issuers; they were thus useless as a circulating medium and a source of frequent loss to their holders.

In 1574 a proposition was made to the Queen by two persons named Wickliffe and Humphrey, to coin halfpence and farthings in base silver (to weigh respectively 12 and 6 grains), but was not acted upon. It was then proposed to coin pledges of copper, and a proclamation forbidding the use of private tokens and authorizing those just named was prepared; this, however, again, was not acted upon, and private tokens still continued in use. In 1582 the three-farthing pieces were withdrawn and silver halfpennies issued. They bear on the obverse a portcullis and mint mark, and on the reverse a cross and pellets.

In 1601 and 1602 the requirements of the army in Ireland caused, for a time, the issue of copper pence, halfpence, and farthings, and this seems to have revived the idea of copper pledges for England, for which, indeed, pattern pieces were struck. Copper tokens were, at that time, issued by the cities of Oxford, Worcester, and Bristol.

On the accession of James I. that monarch issued silver pennies for this country, in which his Scottish baubees, bodles, and placks were useless. A pattern farthing was also prepared but not issued. Soon afterwards a fresh scheme, which met the approval of the king, was acted upon. This was the issue of Royal farthing tokens weighing only six grains each. The licence to mint these dishonest coins which, for the purpose of getting them into circulation, were sold by the Crown to all comers at 21 shillings’ worth for a pound, was granted to Lord Harrington--the king stipulating that he should receive one-half the profit every quarter of a year. His majesty, however, ere long altered the arrangement, allowing Lord Harrington a fixed sum, and himself taking all the rest of the profit. Their principal distributor was Gerard Malyns, who thus spoke of their intention and use:--“The necessitye of these small moneys did appeare here with us in England, where everie chandler, tapster, vintner, and others, made tokens of lead and brasse for half-pences, and at Bristol by the late Queenes authoritie were made of copper, with a ship on one side, and C.B. on the other side, signifying CIVITAS BRISTOLL: these went current, for small things, at Bristoll and ten miles about. Hereupon, it pleased our soveraigne lord the king to approve of the making of a competent quantitie of farthing tokens to abolish the said leaden tokens, made in derogation of the king’s prerogative royall, which farthing tokens, being in the yeare 1613, with certain cautions and limitations, made of meere copper, have on the one side two sceptres crossing under one diadem, in remembrance of the union betweene England and Scotland; and on the other side the harpe for Ireland, and the inscription, ‘IACOBVS D.G. MAGNÆ. BRITT. FRA. ET HIBER. REX.’ And the said farthing tokens have not oneley beene found very commodius and necessarie for pettie commutations, but also to be a great reliefe of the poore, and meanes to encrease charitie, without which many of them had perished, everie man having meanes to give almes, even the mechanicall poore to the indigent poore.”

The mode adopted for distributing these farthing tokens and getting them into circulation was crafty and business-like. They were made up in packets of 5_s._ 3_d._ worth in each, and these packets, made up in bags of £20 worth in each, were sent to the mayors of the different towns of the kingdom, who were required to sell them to the public. For all sold and remitted for within two months the mayor was allowed two shillings in the pound for his trouble; if over two months, then only one shilling; and the purchaser of course in any case got 21_s._ worth for 20_s._ Thus each 21_s._ worth was sold by the king for 18_s._

Despite all this, however, and the issuing of proclamation after proclamation to enforce this Royal swindle, private tokens continued to be issued as much as ever and could not be put down. The office for the issue of the Royal tokens was in Lothbury, London, and the place is still known as “Token-House Yard.” After the annulling of this office, copper farthing tokens of a more honest value were issued, but traders still struck their own to such an extent that they became more than ever general throughout the country.

In 1649 an attempt was made to establish a national farthing, and pattern pieces were prepared. Nothing, however, was done until 1671, when Traders’ Tokens having increased to a prodigious extent, and being issued by one or other in almost every town and village in the kingdom, the government announced the intended issue of halfpence and farthings to supersede them; and in 1672 a proclamation prohibiting the making or use of any such private tokens was issued, and stringent measures taken for their suppression. From that time their use rapidly declined, and they were soon utterly put down.

From that time (1672) until 1787 no Traders’ Tokens whatever were struck or issued in this kingdom. In the latter year (1787) the government having for a long time neglected to issue a sufficient quantity of copper coins for the purposes of trade, and the copper coinage having been forged to so great an extent that not one-fourth of what was in circulation was of Royal mint coining, the Anglesey Copper Mines Company issued tokens of their own, and to such an extent that they put into circulation three hundred tons of copper pennies and halfpennies. The example thus set was followed by other companies, corporations, and private traders, and tokens soon became so general that the matter attracted the attention of government, and resulted in orders being issued for the preparation of a new national coinage.

To that end in June, 1797, George the Third issued his warrant empowering Matthew Boulton, of the Soho Works, Birmingham, to manufacture a considerable quantity of penny and twopenny pieces. The extent to which this contract was carried may be gathered from the fact that between June, 1797, and 1805, Matthew Boulton “coined under contract for the British Government upwards of 4,000 tons weight of copper coin, amounting at its nominal value to nearly £800,000.” These coins were strictly and unequivocally _honest_, as were also those of the Anglesey and other works.

The Soho twopenny pieces weighed exactly two ounces each, and eight of them laid side by side measured one foot; the pennies weighed one ounce each, and seventeen in like manner measured two feet; the halfpennies weighed half an ounce each, and twelve of them measured one foot.

The effect of this issue was the stoppage of private tokens, only one or two examples being known of so late a date as 1802, when they finally ceased.

By 1811, consequent on the great increase in the value of copper caused by the costly wars in which this country was engaged, the twopenny and penny pieces (which were of the intrinsic value of the metal) were melted down, or used in various ways, and thus the copper currency had again, gradually and surely, become deficient. In that year the Copper Companies and others again resorted to the issue of batches of tokens, and these continued to increase and to be issued in large numbers until 1817, when, by Act of Parliament passed on the 27th of July, their manufacture was prohibited, and their issuers ordered, under penalties for disobedience, to take up all they had issued before the 1st of January, 1818.

Thus came entirely to an end the issue of Traders’ Tokens in this country.

It is impossible to ascertain, or even to form a correct estimate of, the number of varieties of seventeenth century tokens that were issued. Boyne, after mature consideration and much research, estimated the entire issue as not having exceeded 20,000, and in that he was probably tolerably correct.

In round numbers the _known_ examples of tokens of the seventeenth century, issued in the various counties of England, Wales, and Ireland, may be put down as in:--

Bedfordshire about 80 Berkshire " 150 Buckinghamshire " 140 Cambridgeshire " 150 Cheshire " 70 Cornwall " 50 Cumberland " 10 Derbyshire " 110 Devonshire " 250 Dorsetshire " 160 Durham " 60 Essex " 250 Gloucestershire " 180 Hampshire " 150 Herefordshire " 50 Hertfordshire " 170 Huntingdonshire " 70 Kent " 500 Lancashire " 100 Leicestershire " 100 Lincolnshire " 200 Middlesex, including London " 3,200 Monmouthshire " 20 Norfolk " 300 Northamptonshire " 150 Nottinghamshire " 90 Northumberland " 20 Oxfordshire " 230 Rutlandshire " 20 Shropshire " 100 Somersetshire " 280 Staffordshire " 100 Suffolk " 300 Surrey, including Southwark " 650 Sussex " 200 Warwickshire " 160 Westmoreland " 25 Wiltshire " 200 Worcestershire " 120 Yorkshire " 450 Uncertain English " 100 Wales " 100 Isle of Man " 1 Ireland " 700 Scotland, none known.

Making a grand total in all of about twelve thousand distinct varieties; and these, of course, can be only about one-half of what were actually issued.

The denominations are Pennies, Half-pennies, and Farthings, and they are of copper, or, in not a few instances, brass.

Their shape is usually round, but some are square, others octagonal, others lozenge, and others again heart-shaped. These varieties will be best understood by reference to the following engravings, which may be taken as general typical examples.

They are usually thin, not very cleverly struck, and many of them exhibit, in their orthography, ignorant and eccentric modes of spelling names, both of persons, trades, and places. The greater bulk of them are, fortunately, dated; the dates ranging from about 1648 to 1672.

The inscriptions in by far the greatest number of examples commence on the obverse, and are continued on the reverse. They commonly consist of the christian and surname of the issuer, his trade or occupation, and the town or village in which he resided. Usually on the ordinary disc-formed tokens this inscription is between the outer and inner circle of dotted lines. On the field, within the inner circle, is usually the value of the coin; the initials of the issuer and his wife joined together with a knot; trade-company, town, or family-arms; tavern or shop sign; device, indicating the handicraft or trade of the issuer; initials or other lettering; or other matter. On some, principally on the square, lozenge, octagonal, and heart-shaped examples, the inscription is placed in several lines across the entire field, and is accompanied more or less by devices, etc.