October 1, 2024

Part 1
The 1812, 1813, and 1814 Tokens

From the Shield on an 1813 Three Shillings Token

     The first official coinages minted for Jersey were the silver 1813 tokens. They were struck by the Royal Mint on the authority of an Order in Council from the Committee on Coins dated February 5, 1813. Thomas Wyon Jr., the chief engraver at the Royal Mint, designed the tokens.¹ He placed the Jersey arms on the obverse, with a wreath of oak surrounding the denomination on the reverse. Eventually, it was requested that £10,000 worth of silver bullion be converted to three shillings and eighteen pence tokens. From February through June 1813, 2535 pounds of silver were delivered to the Royal Mint. Using this silver, in late March 4842 eighteen pence tokens were minted along with 2421 three shillings tokens. Additionally, 33,896 eighteen pence tokens were minted during the month of June. Also during the month of June, 51,890 three shillings tokens were coined. A year later, during March 1814, an extra 578 pounds of silver was delivered to the mint producing 16,793 three shillings tokens. Thus, we have a total of 38,739 eighteen pence tokens and 71,104 three shillings tokens for a nominal value of £13,571/0/6.²

     As Marshall-Fraser puts it, “It is necessary, however, to go back to October 26, 1812, when the States due to the paucity of small coins, decided to order some silver tokens and a Committee of nine members went into the question of amounts, denominations and costs. The States then requested H.E. the Lieutenant Governor Don to consult with His Majesty's Ministers. As a result, a letter dated November 12, 1812, from Lord Chetwynd, clerk to the Privy Council was read on December 12, 1812, and the States issued the necessary instructions to put the tokens into circulation as soon as they should arrive and agreed to redeem the tokens at a month's notice.”³
     It is interesting to read a letter written on October 27, 1812 from Lieutenant Governor George Don, Government House to Viscount Sidmouth concerning the desire of the States of Jersey to issue a local coin “stamped” with the arms of the Island. From this letter:

     “Much inconvenience having been felt by the Public here from the great scarcity of specie. The States met yesterday and passed the enclosed Act, by which Your Lordship will perceive that this assembly is desirous of issuing a local coin provided such a measure should meet with the approbation of His Majesty's Government.
     I have to report to your Lordship that every effort to keep a sufficiency of circulating specie in this island has proved ineffectual and I therefore take the liberty of recommending that the measure now proposed may be sanctioned.

     The States in the first instance intend to cause about six thousand pounds Sterling to be coined in small silver pieces and stamped with the Arms of the Island and to cover the expense of coinage, carriage, freight, and insurance. The intrinsic worth of the pieces will be a little less than the nominal value at which they will be issued.”⁴

Letter from Fr. Godfray Greffier to Matthew Boulton
requesting coinage of silver tokens

In a subsequent letter dated July 27, 1813, he writes to “My Dear Sir” the following:

“I heartily wish that you could get your States to authorize the coinage of Ten Thousand Pounds in Guernsey tokens. This with the coinage ordered by the Jersey States would set all disputes and differences respecting money matters at rest for ever.

Yesterday my States passed an act for the additional coinage of tokens to the amount of Ten Thousand Pounds, and it seemed that the opinion of the assembly that in the event of this not proving sufficient for the circulating specie in the Island a further coinage of Ten Thousand Pounds should immediately be ordered.”⁵

It is interesting to note that the Royal Mint was not the first place the States of Jersey requested to make these tokens. In December 1812, the States requested Matthew Boulton's Soho mint to strike these tokens.¹⁶ In addition to the Royal Mint's eventual eighteen pence and three shilling tokens, a one shilling token was also requested. The allocation was to be:

£4,000 in pieces to be issued at 3 shillings
£4,000 in pieces to be issued at 18 pence
£2,000 in pieces to be issued at 1 shilling

In a letter dated 7th January 1813, Mr. Boulton had to turn down the request due to the Privy Council opinion that the Royal Mint should strike these tokens.¹⁷ To learn more about the Soho connection with these tokens, please read the "The Birmingham Letters for the Silver 1813 Tokens."

William Plees wrote in his book of 1817, An Account of the Island of Jersey, the following to describe the situation in 1813:

“The coin current in Jersey was, until lately, chiefly that of France, with a small proportion of Spanish money. The usual amount of specie, in circulation, has been estimated at nearly £80,000 sterling. After the French revolution, the coin of England became more generally into use, until the increased value of gold and silver completely drained the island of all specie but copper, and even that became scarce. There were, at this period, three regular banking houses in the town of St. Helier. These, and a few mercantile men, were accustomed to issue notes, payable to the bearer on demand, for twenty-four livres French currency. So great, however, and so increasing were the inconveniences occasioned by the almost total disappearance of silver, that those houses were obliged to issue notes of five and ten shillings: these induced individuals to do the same; all having "Jersey Bank" on their notes; until there were about eighty of these soi disant bankers. The island was soon inundated with notes, from the value of one pound down to that of one shilling; many of them issued by the lowest description of traders and publicans. Alarming as this undoubtedly was, necessity gave to these notes a general and ready circulation.

Seriously aware of the ultimate consequences, likely to result from this unrestrained emission of paper money, the States resolved to have a silver coin struck: accordingly a quantity of tokens was issued, bearing the value of three shillings, and of eighteen pence English, to the amount of £10,000 sterling.* The issuing of notes under the value of one pound sterling, was then forbidden; yet such apprehensions respecting the notes still in circulation were excited among the country inhabitants, that those who attended the market, hoarded all the coin and tokens they could procure: this was at least the reason assigned and generally believed, for the disappearance, in a few months, of nearly all the newly coined silver. The scarcity still continues, though not in the same degree.

* About the value of £2600 sterling has been added. The States have since made an act, whereby every person issuing notes payable to bearer, is to have a regular office for the payment of them in the town of St. Helier. In consequence of this regulation, many have withdrawn their notes from circulation. The rapidly increasing evil is thus checked, but the public security will probably render stricter measures necessary”.

These tokens remained legal tender until the first of October 1834, in which year English money was declared the sole legal tender. Lieutenant Colonel W. Marshall-Fraser, in his booklet The Coinages of the Channel Islands, stated that “large numbers” were exported to Guernsey and Canada where they were at a premium owing to more favorable rates of exchange.⁶ This was the case even when on March 9, 1813, the States of Guernsey forbade all importation of silver and copper tokens and all such tokens had to be exported within 15 days.⁷

An 1814 Jersey Bank One Pound Note

It is of interest to make a comment about the mintage figures quoted in some leading books and journals. Most sources state that the mintage for the eighteen pence token is 90,800 and the mintage for the three shillings token is 45,400. These numbers can be traced to a guess by Pridmore. He first computed the nominal value of these tokens from the January 28, 1834, Jersey Orders of Council and then took a ratio of two eighteen pence tokens to every one three shillings token.⁸ Pridmore also quoted the January 28, 1834, Jersey Orders of Council, stating that the amount of tokens outstanding and not redeemed by the Committee as £1,363/7/6. This number is incorrect if one can assume that the amount redeemed is correctly stated in the Orders of Council as £12,256/12/6. Also note that this redeemed amount is mathematically incorrect. If we assume the redeemed amount is £12,256/11/6, then the computed amount remaining should then be £1314/9. As James O'Donald Mays states, “Their circulation over a 21-year period meant that few Jersey silver tokens survived in a mint condition. Although far more than three shillings tokens were struck, they are rarer today than the 18 penny pieces. A possible explanation is that when the tokens were recalled, holders were more anxious to have their large denominations redeemed than the less valuable 18 penny piece.”⁹ One can only guess at the remaining numbers of these most elusive pieces left for the collector. To learn more about this subject, please read the Royal Mint documents concerning this issue.

Silver Tokens Production at a Glance

Things to note:

Both silver tokens are scarce and are extremely rare in an uncirculated state.

Sir Joseph Banks and His Warning of Counterfeit Tokens

The letter warning of counterfeiting.

Sir Joseph Banks was sworn to His Majesty's Privy Council on March 29, 1797 and appointed to the Coin Committee to examine the means of procuring a supply of copper coinage. His other activities on the Coin Committee in 1797 included the production of quantities of copper coins in the Birmingham factory of Matthew Boulton and in 1810 establishing the new Royal Mint on Tower Hill in London. ¹⁰

He was instrumental in warning the States of the potential of counterfeits. At this time, counterfeiting of silver coins was still a problem or as Greg Roberts writes in his blog "Wicked William Regency Blog inspired by the life and times of William-Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley (1788-1857)":

... Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society - a post he held for 42 years. The Royal Society traditionally exercised control over currency manufacture. The Mint comprised of disparate departments with strict, almost medieval, working practices. The Royal Society acted like a glue to keep these elements working together and to oversee innovation and improvement.

... an Act of Parliament in 1803 introduced draconian fines for simple possession of fraudulent coins. But forgery of silver currency continued unabated. Up until this time the best engravers only worked on large value coins. No regard was given to the quality of lower denominations. 'From the Mint's point of view the manufacture of coin had to satisfy two, and only two, criteria: coin must be of proper fineness and of accurate weight.' It is little wonder that forgers thrived.

For a fun read, see "Revisiting the Case of Joseph Hunton - Silver Token Issuer and Last Man Hanged for Forgery" by Gary Oddie.

Eighteen Pence (click on image to enlarge)

    Year   Mintage  Diameter   
    1813    38,740    26.50

Things to note:

Pridmore incorrectly estimated the mintage as 90,800.⁶ From Royal Mint documents the number of coins minted is either 38,739 by value or 38,740 by weight.

Three Shillings (click on image to enlarge)

    Year   Mintage  Diameter   
    1813    71,104   35.00

Things to note:

Pridmore incorrectly estimated the mintage as 45,400.⁶ By using the Royal Mint documents to compute the mintage, the numbers are by value to be 71,104 and by weight as 71,115. Thus, we have almost twice as many of the larger tokens minted as that of the smaller piece.
These tokens were minted in 1813 and 1814.
Most tokens were weakly struck in the center.
A few proof examples were struck in copper.

The British Royal Mint, which opened at the Tower Hill location in 1811, struck Jersey silver tokens in 1813 and 1814.

The Copper Tokens

In a letter dated May 20, 1796, Charles William of Jersey made an enquiry to Thomas Willams, the copper king of Anglesey, about the production of a token coinage for the island of Jersey. In this letter he enquired about having three tokens he wanted to be made for Jersey. They were:

liard de Jersey
deux liards de Jersey
un sol de Jersey

All three were to be made of copper and were to have the arms of Jersey (three leopards) for the obverse. On the reverse Mont Orgueil castle, or as he describes it "an ancient Castle in this Island, and very picturesque" was to be depicted. The legend would either have been "MON DIEU, MON ROI, MA PATIRE" (in English "MY GOD, MY KING, MY HOMELAND") or "UNE FOI, UN ROI, UNE LOI" (in English "ONE FAITH, ONE KING, ONE LAW").¹⁸

The letter was forward on September 6, 1796, to Matthew Boulton, the owner of the Soho mint. Boulton response was that he had no objection to strike them. He also detailed the cost and profit for minting these pieces.¹⁹ As we now know, these proposed tokens were not struck.

However, to learn more about the Soho connection with these proposed tokens, please read the "The Birmingham Letters for a Proposed 1796 Copper Tokens." It is interesting to note that Charles William was most probably a relation of Henry de Jersey who with Charles Bishop had the famous Guernsey Bishop de Jersey Five Shilling token minted.²⁰

The Bazaar, the Exchange and Mart
of September 22, 1886

Besides the two silver tokens of 1813, various unofficial “Jersey” copper tokens issued by banks and firms appeared between the years 1812 and 1814. The reason for minting these and other copper 19th century tokens is detailed in The Bazaar, the Exchange and Mart of September 22, 1886, by Richard Thomas Samuel. He wrote:

“The issue of the regal copper coinage of 1797 (known as that of the 'Soho' type), supplied a great want in the national currency; but the expensive warfare of the period, in which this country was engaged, enhanced the price of copper, and much of that heavy coinage, consisting of twopenny and penny pieces, consequently found its way to the smelting houses; while the value of the tokens of the eighteenth century becoming intrinsically enhanced, large quantities of the more honest description of those pieces also disappeared; and the spurious ones, being decried by authority, likewise found their way to the melting-pot. Thus another deficiency in the quantity of the copper currency soon arose. Eventually, however, the price of copper fell, and then this branch of trade came comparatively depressed, so that, about the year 1811, the large copper companies and other firms, seeing that the change in the value of the metal afforded a favorable opportunity for supplying the deficiency in the circulating medium, took advantage of the circumstance, and commenced striking and issuing a fresh series of provincial copper coins, such pieces constituting the nineteenth century series of tokens proper, as it may be termed.”

According to some, the Jersey copper tokens were probably all private issues. Others think that these were patterns to be approved by the Island authorities. Depending on your source there are various different issues of penny tokens that circulated on the island. However everyone will agree that there is only one half penny token. As far as the tokens themselves, with the exception of the Prince of Wales Plumes / Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney combination penny, all Jersey copper tokens are very rare. (The Prince of Wales Plumes / Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney combination is just rare.)

Things to note:

Guernsey has the English spelling, not the French.
All of the penny tokens have a diameter of 34 mm.
The diameter of the half penny token is 29 mm.
The mintages are unknown.

You can read in The Bazaar, the Exchange and Mart a nice description of these Jersey tokens.

To learn more about 19th century British copper tokens in general, you need to the read the best book on the subject, British Copper Tokens 1811-1820, by Paul and Bente Withers. This book is fully illustrated and was written to set the standard. No numismatic library is complete without this book.

Prince of Wales Plumes / Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney Half Penny (click on image to enlarge)

    Year    Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813     W2050   241-14     63        T12     ---

This token is a companion piece to the first penny token but is much rarer. Although this is not the rarest token, this is still the most sought after token of the series. From an article by A H Baldwin & Sons Ltd concerning their historical "Baldwin Basement" stock:

“Of particular note is the collection formed by Francis S Cokayne who assembled an astounding number of tokens, probably the finest, and most extensive collection ever formed. He began collecting, along with his brother, Morton, in the late 1880s, had the pick of James Atkins' cabinet, traded regularly with many of the noted collectors of the period, and seems to have participated in every public token auction in the United Kingdom for over 50 years, either directly or through a representative (it was a standing rule at Baldwin's that staff could not leave on Friday until a new parcel of tokens was posted to Mr Cokayne's offices on Montagu Square). A number of the tokens in this auction can be further traced through him to William Norman, Frederick Lincoln, Samuel Hamer, Lionel Fletcher, William Davis, and, of course, James Atkins, among others."

It is interesting to note that a similar piece was purchased by Mr Cokayne at the ex-Murdoch auction of 12/12/1904, LOT 209 for 5 pounds 15 shillings, which makes this one of the most expensive tokens he purchased.

Finally, please note that this particular example is from both the Pridmore collection and then later the McCammon collection and is depicted on the front cover of his book, Currencies of the Anglo-Norman Isles. There are certainly three or perhaps even four available to collectors.¹¹

From The Bazaar, the Exchange and Mart
of September 22, 1886

The Various Configurations of the 1813/1814 Penny Tokens
Number	Withers¹	Davis²	Pridmore³	McCammon⁴	Atkins⁵	Rarity⁶
1	2044	241-10	62	T6	49	R / RR / RRR
2	2043	241-7	65	T5	52	RRR
3	2045	242-13	66	T7	51	RRR
4	1636	241-8	Rejected	T9		RR
5	1681	242-12	68	T10		RR / RRR
6	2035	241-4	60	T2	47
7	2037	241-5	61	T3	48
8	2038
9	2039					RRR
10	2042	241-6	64	T4	50
11	1635	241-9	Rejected	T11		RRR
12	1680	241-11	67
13	1682		69	T8		RRR

¹ Withers, Paul and Bente, British Copper Tokens 1811-1820
² Davis, W.J., The Nineteenth Century Token Coinage of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and The Isle of Man, to which are added Tokens of Over One Penny Value of Any Period
³ Pridmore,F., The Coins of The British Commonwealth of Nations, Part 1 European Territories
⁴ McCammon, A.L.T., Currencies of the Anglo-Norman Isles
⁵ Atkins, James, The Coins and Tokens of The Possessions and Colonies of The British Empire
⁶ If more than one rarity scale is listed, minor varieties exists. Typically, this depends on the edge graining. Withers states the following as a rarity scale:

RRR	Extremely Rare	Very few specimens seen, or most known are in 'captivity'.
RR	Very Rare	Few specimens available.
R	Rare	You will find it very difficult to locate one of these.

The Various Configurations of the 1813/1814 Penny Tokens

Withers¹

Davis²

Pridmore³

McCammon⁴

Atkins⁵

Rarity⁶

1635

241-9

Rejected

T11

RRR

1636

241-8

Rejected

1680

241-11

1681

242-12

T10

RR / RRR

RRR

241-4

241-5

RRR

241-6

241-7

RRR

2044

241-10

R / RR / RRR

2045

242-13

RRR

¹Withers, Paul and Bente, British Copper Tokens 1811-1820
²Davis, W.J., The Nineteenth Century Token Coinage of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and The Isle of Man, to which are added Tokens of Over One Penny Value of Any Period
³Pridmore,F., The Coins of The British Commonwealth of Nations, Part 1 European Territories
⁴McCammon, A.L.T., Currencies of the Anglo-Norman Isles
⁵Atkins, James, The Coins and Tokens of The Possessions and Colonies of The British Empire
⁶ If more than one rarity scale is listed, minor varieties exists. Typically, this depends on the edge graining. Withers states the following as a rarity scale:

RRR	Extremely Rare	Very few specimens seen, or most known are in 'captivity'.
RR	Very Rare	Few specimens available.
R	Rare	You will find it very difficult to locate one of these.

Some of the Die Pairings for the One Penny Tokens

Some of the Die Pairings for the One Penny Tokens

Some of the Die Pairings for the One Penny Tokens

Druid / 1814 Commerce Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1814   W1635   241-9   Rejected     T11     ---

This token has a druid's head on the obverse. The reverse depicts a robed female figure, Britannia. She is seated to the left on a bale of merchandise, holding in her right hand a sprig of olive, and in her left a palm branch. A shield is at her side. The legend is “COMMERCE” and in the exergue is the date 1814. Halliday engraved this die.

Withers rates this as a RRR token. The obverse die links with both the W642 and W646 Burton tokens.

Druid / Commerce Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

In the distance,
a ship can be seen.

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813   W1636   241-8   Rejected     T9      ---

The obverse of this token also has the druid design as seen on W1635. The reverse has a female seated on a bale of merchandise holding an olive branch in her right hand and a cornucopia in her left. The cornucopia represents abundance, wealth, and prosperity while the olive branch is a symbol of peace. In the distance, a ship can be seen. There are various examples known to have been struck over Jersey Bank tokens.

Withers rates this as a RR token. The obverse die links with both the W642 and W646 Burton tokens. The reverse die links with the W1616 Non-Local token.

Prince of Wales Plumes / Commerce with Cornucopia Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813/4 W1680   242-11     67        ---     ---

This token's obverse has the Prince of Wales' feathers emerging from a coronet. The motto on the ribbon is “ICH DIEN” and under the crest is the date 1813. The legend is “TO FACILITATE TRADE.” Like most of the other Jersey copper tokens of this period, they were engraved by Thomas Halliday, a die engraver and token manufacturer of Newhall Street and Hagley Row, Birmingham, England.¹³ This design seems to be a favorite design of his, given the fact that he used it on several English tokens of this same period. The reverse is the same as W1635.

Although Withers doesn't state the rarity, I think it safely to say this is a RRR token.

Prince of Wales Plumes / Commerce Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813   W1681   242-12     68        T10     ---

      This token is another rare mule token, that depicts the Price of Wales's badge. The reverse has the same design as W1636. Thomas Halliday also worked for the Messrs. Morgan & Company, Die Makers, Medallists and Token Manufacturers. Mr. Henry Morgan advertised in the newspapers of the day and it is quite likely these copper tokens were ordered through and supplied by the Morgan firm, but possibly were “handled” by Thomas Halliday. You can read more about Mr. Morgan entrepreneurship in James O'Donald Mays' book, Tokens of Those Trying Times.

     Fred Bowman identified 28 tokens that although are not Canadian did circulate in Canada. His article, Canadian Borderline Tokens, appears in the September, 1966, issue of the Canadian Numismatic Journal. This token is listed in his article as token #4.²¹

     I would rate this as RRR. The reverse die links with the W1616 Non-Local token.

Prince of Wales Plumes / Justice Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

Underneath the wreath,
you can see the lettering
from the Sheffield die.

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813   W1682    ---       69        T8      ---

The obverse is similar to the first token with the Prince of Wales' design. The reverse of this token has a female, Lady Justice, standing wearing a toga. She is holding an olive branch and scales within a wreath of olive and palm branches. The palm branch, or palm frond, is a symbol of victory, triumph, peace, and eternal life. The olive branch is a symbol of peace.

Withers list this as RRR. The reverse die links to the W1615 Shieffield token.

Elias Neel Jersey Penny Token

 
    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1812   W2035   241-4      60        T2       47

Withers 2035 is the holy grail of Jersey tokens. According to various sources, the obverse has a profile of George III laureated. The legend reads as “JERSEY BANK TOKEN 1812.” The reverse has in the center “ELIAS NEEL JERSEY.” The legend is “A BANK OF ENGLAND NOTE FOR 240 TOKENS.” Elias Neel, a banker in St. Helier, issued this token. The die sinker of the token was Halliday while the manufacturer was Thomason.¹⁴ Unfortunately, this token has not been seen since 1834. For a nice article about this token see Elias Neel Jersey Bank Token of 1812 by Hugh Pagan.¹⁵ (This and other nice reads can be found on the British Numismatic Society Research Blog.)

Jersey Bank Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813   W2037   241-5      61        T3       48

The obverse has a draped and laureated bust to the right of George III, with an H on the truncation. The legend is simply “JERSEY BANK 1813.” Halliday engraved this die. On the reverse there is a robed female figure seated to the left on a bale, holding scales and a cornucopia. Typical of these coins, the female represents Justice and Plenty. The legend is “ONE PENNY TOKEN.”

Although Withers does not state the rarity, I think it safely to say this is a RRR token. The reverse die links to the W1396 Non-Local token.

Jersey Bank Penny Token

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813   W2038    ---      ---       ---      ---

I do not have an actual picture of this token, but it is very similar to W2037. The difference is there is not an H on the truncation.

Another one that I think it safely to say this is a RRR token. The reverse die links to the W1396 Non-Local token.

Jersey Bank Penny Token Image Courtesy of Philip Warrington (click on image to enlarge)

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813   W2039    ---      ---       ---      ---

The obverse also has a draped and laureated bust of George III to the right, with no H on truncation. There are nine leaves in the wreath. The legend reads “JERSEY BANK 1813.” This die was also engraved by Halliday. The reverse is the same as the previous two tokens.

Another one that I think it safely to say this is a RRR token. The reverse die links to the W1396 Non-Local token.

George III within Wreath / Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813   W2042   241-6      64        T4       50

The obverse on this token has a laureated and draped bust to the right of George III, within a wreath of oak. Once again, the die was engraved by Halliday. The reverse is similar to the Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney tokens. Note that the obverse image for this token I used, might not be correct! Like Withers, I am unable to locate this token, but I believe this die is the same one used on an 1812 Lower Canada token.

Needless to say, this is another RRR token.

Druid / Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813   W2043   241-7      65        T5       52

Here we have a token muled together with the Druid's head and the Jersey/Guernsey and Alderney dies. During this time copper was thought to be a good investment and there was a distrust of paper.¹¹ If you are familiar with late 18th century tokens, then you are aware that the druid's head was a popular design. Ken Elks states, “This design can be traced to the Parys Mines Company. Starting in 1787, this company manufactured a penny, halfpenny and farthing tokens, primarily to pay their workers at their copper mines on the Isle of Anglesey. These tokens all bore the veiled head of a druid on the obverse and their cipher PMCo on the reverse. These were some of the first tokens produced in the largest numbers, some 250 tons of pennies and 50 tons of halfpennies. The farthings were only issued in relatively small numbers. Some of the later tokens with different reverse designs were concoctions made especially for collectors. All the coins were manufactured at a private mint set up in Birmingham, owned by the Parys Mines Company.”¹²

This is another RRR token. The obverse die links with both the W642 and W646 Burton tokens.

Prince of Wales Plumes / Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins   
    1813   W2044   241-10     62        T6       49

This token is the easiest token in the series to locate but is still considered rare. The obverse has the familiar Badge of the Prince of Wales. The slogan “TO FACILITATE TRADE” was used to encourage circulation.¹¹ The reverse is simply the inscription “ONE PENNY TOKEN” in three lines with the legend “JERSEY GUERNSEY AND ALDERNEY.” The diesinker was Thomas Halliday, the most famous diesinker of the early nineteenth century British copper tokens. There are several different minor varieties depending on the graining of the edge and die orientation. Another variety has a rusted reverse die. Both the obverse and reverse dies are muled with other dies of this period and form the basis of the series.

Wreath / Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

The Location
of the Small H

 
    Year  Withers  Davis   Pridmore  McCammon  Atkins  
    1813   W2045   242-13     66        T7       51

The obverse has the inscription “ONE PENNY TOKEN” in three lines inside an oak wreath. Various sources do not seem to agree as the engraver of the dies. Since there is a small H on the leaf opposite of the N in TOKEN, it would appear that the engraver is Halliday. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to see this tiny H. The reverse is similar to the previous token. Also note that the spelling of Guernsey is the English version as opposed to the French Guernesey. The French spelling, Guernesey, was found on their coins from 1830 through 1949.

Another RRR token. The obverse die links with the W640 Burton, W935 Nottingham, and W1616 Non-Local tokens.

Flint Copper Company Overstruck on Jersey Bank Penny Token Image Courtesy of Philip Warrington (click on image to enlarge)

Here we have a Flint Copper Company penny token (W232) overstruck on a Jersey Bank penny token (W2039).

Burton Overstruck on Jersey Bank Penny Token Image Courtesy of Philip Warrington (click on image to enlarge)

This is a Burton penny token (W641) overstruck on a Jersey Bank penny token (W2039).

Sedbury Iron Works Overstruck on Jersey Bank Penny Token (click on image to enlarge)

A Sedbury Iron Works penny token (W970) overstruck on a Jersey Bank penny token (W2039).

The Obverse of the 1813 Half Penny Token

The Reverse of the 1813 Half Penny Token

The obverse of an 1813 Three Shillings Token

The reverse of an 1813 Three Shillings Token

An 1813 Proof 18 Pence Token

From the Guernsey Jersey Magazine 1837 Volume III
edited by Jonathan Buncan

1. Richard Sainthill, Olla Podrida; or Scraps, Numismatic, Antiquarian, and Literary (London, 1844), p. 27.

2. Royal Mint Documents 1812-1814, Occasional Papers No. 4, Société Jersiaise Numismatic Section.

3. Lieutenant Colonel W. Marshall-Fraser, The Coinages of the Channel Islands, Société Guernesiasie, Report and Transactions, 1948, p. 321.

4. Jersey Heritage Trust L/F/95 General Don Collection L/F/95/B/21 Letter from Lieutenant General George Don, Government House to Viscount Sidmouth concerning the States of Jersey's desire to issue a local coin stamped with the arms of the Island, includes a copy of the act of the States 1812.

5. Jersey Heritage Trust L/F/95 General Don Collection L/F/95/B/29 Letter from Lieutenant General George Don, Government House to 'My dear Sir' concerning a memorandum relating to Jersey Revenues about the import on spirits; also concerns the possibility of Guernsey producing coinage of £10,000 and the passing of an act in Jersey for additional coinage, and quarantine on all vessels arriving from the Mediterranean in 1813.

6. Lieutenant Colonel W. Marshall-Fraser, The Coinages of the Channel Islands, Société Guernesiasie, Report and Transactions, 1948, p. 309.

7. Lieutenant Colonel B. Lowsley, The Coinages of the Channel Islands (London: Victoria Printing Works, 1897), p. 36.

8. Fred Pridmore, The Coins of The British Commonwealth of Nations, Part 1: European Territories (London: Robert Stockwell Ltd., 1960), p. 45.

9. James O'Donald Mays, Tokens of Those Trying Times, A Social History of Britain's 19th Century Silver Tokens. (Hampshire, 1991) p. 160.

10. Sir Joseph Banks - Papers, 1767-1882. Papers concerning coinage and the Royal Mint, 1787-1813. State Library of New South Wales (see Series 84.21 'Issue of Tokens in Jersey', November 1812.) Page 1 warning to the States about counterfeits.

11. A. L. T. McCammon, Currencies of the Anglo-Norman Isles (London: Spink & Son Ltd., 1984), p. 194.

12. Ken Elks, Coinage of Great Britain. Celtic to Decimalisation, Part 9, Provincial Token Coinage, Predecimal, accessed September 16, 2022.

13. W. J. Davis, The Nineteenth Century Token Coinage of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and The Isle of Man, to which are added Tokens of Over One Penny Value of Any Period (London: B.A. Seaby Ltd., First Edition 1904), pp. 241-242.

14. R. C. Bell, Copper Commercial Coins 1811-1819 (Newcastle, 1964), p. 157.

15. Hugh Pagan, June 8, 2020, Elias Neel Jersey Bank Token of 1812, British Numismatic Society Research Blog, accessed September 16, 2022.

16. Birmingham Archives & Heritage, Birmingham Central Library (GB 143 BA&H) MS 3782/13/11/89 Letter. Francis Godfray Greffier (Jersey) to Matthew Robinson Boulton (-).

17. Birmingham Archives & Heritage, Birmingham Central Library (GB 143 BA&H) MS 3782/13/11/157 Copy letter. Matthew Robinson Boulton (Soho) to Francis Godfray Greffier (-).

18. Birmingham Archives & Heritage, Birmingham Central Library (GB 143 BA&H) MS 3782/12/73/122 Letter. Thomas Williams (Anglesey) to Matthew Boulton (Soho).

19. Birmingham Archives & Heritage, Birmingham Central Library (GB 143 BA&H) MS 3782/12/73/123 Copy letter. Thomas Williams (Anglesey) to Matthew Boulton (Soho).

20. Private correspondence with the Numismatic Section of Société Jersiaise.

21. Canadian Numismatic Journal, September, 1966, pp. 336-338.

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An 1815 Jersey Bank One Pound Note

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home, 1/13th of a shilling, 1/12th of a shilling, decimal, one pound, commemoratives, or gold coins

Part 1The 1812, 1813, and 1814 Tokens

Sir Joseph Banks and His Warning of Counterfeit Tokens

The Copper Tokens

Part 1
The 1812, 1813, and 1814 Tokens