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1/2 Penny - Crombie, Clapperton and Findlay Melbourne, Victoria
| Issuer | Crombie, Clapperton & Findlay |
|---|---|
| Year | 1854-1855 |
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| Currency | Pound sterling (1788-1900) |
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| Obverse description | A kangaroo standing upright and facing right occupies the central field, rendered in relief against a plain background with native grasses at its base. The circular legend MELBOURNE arcs across the upper portion of the coin, while the lower field bears a three-line inscription in the exergue reading W.J. TAYLOR MEDALLIST TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION 1851, identifying the engraver and his distinction. The rim is defined by a fine toothed border throughout. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Crombie, Clapperton & Findlay operated as wholesale and retail drapers in Melbourne during the gold rush years, when the colonial government's chronic failure to supply adequate small change left merchants issuing their own tradesman's tokens out of sheer commercial necessity. The Victorian goldrush had flooded the colony with raw metal and newly wealthy diggers, yet halfpenny-sized transactions remained nearly impossible without private substitutes.
The token series catalogued under Andrews #84 belongs to one of the more short-lived mercantile partnerships of the period — the firm dissolved well before the imperial authorities finally cracked down on private token issue in the late 1850s.