1/2 Penny - Field Marshal Wellington - Large legend letters

Struck in the immediate aftermath of Wellington's victories on the Iberian Peninsula, this token flooded into Lower Canadian circulation at a moment when the colony was desperately short of official small change — a chronic condition made worse by the War of 1812 diverting British attention from colonial monetary needs. Private merchants and token issuers stepped into the void without authorization, and the trade token market in the Canadas became essentially unregulated.

The large legend variety (CCT WE-2A) is distinguished from its small-letter counterpart by die characteristics catalogued by Breton, and the two were likely produced by different engravers working from the same commercial brief.