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1/2 Penny Hampshire - Portsmouth / John Howard
| Issuer | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 1794 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Penny (1⁄480) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing draped bust of the prison reformer and philanthropist John Howard, rendered in high relief within a beaded border. The legend encircles the effigy, identifying the subject by name and distinction. Notably, no period follows the surname HOWARD, a distinguishing characteristic used to differentiate die varieties. The portrait reflects the dignified neoclassical engraving style typical of late 18th-century British trade tokens. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | IOHN HOWARD F·R·S PHILANTHROPIST · |
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| Additional information |
This piece belongs to the wave of provincial halfpennies struck by private merchants and municipalities during the 1780s and 1790s, when chronic Royal Mint neglect left Britain's small-change supply in near-collapse — counterfeits reportedly outnumbered genuine regal coppers in some regions. John Howard, the prison reformer whose death in 1790 made him an immediate cultural icon, was a popular subject for token issuers precisely because his image carried moral authority and commercial appeal simultaneously.
Struck by a Birmingham diesinker almost certainly working from the flood of commemorative material produced around Howard's death in Kherson, Russia, where he died inspecting military hospitals during a plague epidemic.