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1/2 Penny Cornwall - Penryn / Volunteers
| Issuer | Penryn Volunteers |
|---|---|
| Year | 1794 |
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| Currency | Conder tokens (1787-1797) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | PRO REGE ET POPULO LORD DE DUNSTANVILLE COLONEL (Translation: For King and people) |
| Reverse description | A trophy of arms composition dominates the field, featuring a medieval tournament helmet at the apex above a decorative scroll with a small bearded classical figural head facing left. Flanking military trophies include arms, armour, and martial implements arranged symmetrically in the tradition of late 18th-century civic militia tokens. A circular legend surrounds the entire design, with the date and additional inscription appearing in the exergue. The engraving reflects the patriotic and martial iconography common to provincial volunteer corps tokens of the period. |
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| Additional information |
The Penryn Volunteers were a local militia unit raised during the invasion scare of the early 1790s, when Revolutionary France's military expansion prompted British towns to organize their own armed companies. This halfpenny belongs to the broader wave of provincial copper tokens flooding Britain after 1787, when chronic small-change shortages — caused largely by the Royal Mint's near-total neglect of copper coinage — left merchants and issuers to solve the problem themselves. Penryn, a small Cornish port borough already in economic decline relative to neighboring Falmouth, produced very few token varieties, making DH#4 among the scarcer issues from that county.