1/2 Penny - Hanks and Compy. Sydney, New South Wales

Hanks and Company operated as a hardware merchant on George Street, Sydney, and issued this token during a period when the colonial government of New South Wales had failed entirely to supply adequate small change. British regal copper had largely vanished from circulation by the mid-1850s, absorbed by hoarding and export, leaving tradespeople to fill the gap themselves. The merchant token trade in Australia peaked sharply around 1857–1858 before the introduction of imperial decimal bronze in 1860 rendered the whole category obsolete almost overnight.

The Andrews and Renniks references place this among the more readily attributed Sydney tradesman pieces, though the "Compy." abbreviation on the die is an idiosyncratic contraction not used consistently across the firm's issues.