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1/2 Ackey - George III
| Issuer | African Company of Merchants |
|---|---|
| Year | 1818 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 7.09 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | The arms of the African Company of Merchants occupy the central field, depicting a quartered shield with a sailing vessel and other heraldic elements, surmounted by an elephant and castle crest. Two figures serve as supporters: a warrior in African dress to the dexter and a semi-draped female figure to the sinister, each standing on a decorative scroll base. The circular peripheral legend FREE TRADE TO AFRICA BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT 1750 runs around the entire design, referencing the parliamentary act that chartered the company. |
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| Edge | Reeded |
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| Additional information |
The African Company of Merchants, a regulated trading body chartered by Parliament in 1750 to succeed the Royal African Company, operated a string of forts along the Gold Coast and issued this coinage specifically for trade in that region. The Ackey and its fractions were calibrated to local gold-dust exchange rates, allowing the Company's factors to transact with Fante merchants on terms both sides recognized. By 1818, however, the Company was already on borrowed time — Parliament dissolved it in 1821, transferring its forts to the Crown.
This was among the last coinages struck under the Company's authority before that dissolution.