North Wales copper tokens of the early 1790s emerged from a genuine small-change crisis: the Royal Mint had effectively abandoned copper coinage for decades, leaving merchants and manufacturers to commission their own pieces through private minters, primarily Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint and a handful of competitors. The North Wales halfpenny series, invoking Washington's name and image, was almost certainly produced for commercial circulation rather than any patriotic program — Washington's profile simply sold tokens at the time.
Atkins 132 is one of several die marriages documented within this series, and attribution can shift depending on edge treatment and precise die pairing.
North Wales copper tokens of the early 1790s emerged from a genuine small-change crisis: the Royal Mint had effectively abandoned copper coinage for decades, leaving merchants and manufacturers to commission their own pieces through private minters, primarily Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint and a handful of competitors. The North Wales halfpenny series, invoking Washington's name and image, was almost certainly produced for commercial circulation rather than any patriotic program — Washington's profile simply sold tokens at the time.
Atkins 132 is one of several die marriages documented within this series, and attribution can shift depending on edge treatment and precise die pairing.