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1/2 Penny British Copper Company - Brutus
| Issuer | British Copper Company |
|---|---|
| Year | 1809-1810 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 8.8 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A seated female allegorical figure, identified as Britannia, occupies the central field, shown in three-quarter view facing left and reaching upward toward a branch. She is draped in classical robes and rests beside a shield at her lower right. The central device is framed by a wreath of oak leaves and acorns extending from the lower field and arching symmetrically around both sides, tied at the base with a ribbon bow. The initials BCC appear in the lower exergual area within the wreath. The whole is enclosed within a dentilated border. |
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| Additional information |
The British Copper Company was incorporated in 1809 specifically to exploit Cornish copper deposits and, following the model of Boulton's Soho Mint, issued its own trade tokens partly to advertise its commercial ambitions. The "Brutus" designation in Withers refers to the die pairing, not a separate issue — collectors working this series must navigate an unusually tangled web of obverse and reverse combinations documented across the Withers reference.
Cornwall's private token trade was already mature by 1809, flooding local commerce in the wake of chronic Royal Mint underproduction of regal copper.