The "Bater Sea" halfpennies are trade tokens issued during the chronic small-change shortage that plagued Britain through the late eighteenth century — the Royal Mint, committed to silver and gold, largely abandoned copper coinage for decades, leaving merchants and manufacturers to fill the void themselves. Atkins 139 and 140 represent two die varieties from this Battersea issue, both catalogued under the broader explosion of provincial tokens that preceded the better-known Conder token era of the 1780s and 1790s.
The misspelling "Bater Sea" is consistent across the type, not a late die state.
The "Bater Sea" halfpennies are trade tokens issued during the chronic small-change shortage that plagued Britain through the late eighteenth century — the Royal Mint, committed to silver and gold, largely abandoned copper coinage for decades, leaving merchants and manufacturers to fill the void themselves. Atkins 139 and 140 represent two die varieties from this Battersea issue, both catalogued under the broader explosion of provincial tokens that preceded the better-known Conder token era of the 1780s and 1790s.
The misspelling "Bater Sea" is consistent across the type, not a late die state.