1/2 Penny - Hedberg/Levy Hobart, Tasmania - Late Strike Mule

Hedberg and Levy operated a clothing and drapery business in Hobart, and their token is already well-documented — but the mule variety catalogued here is the product of mismatched dies from different issuers being deliberately or accidentally paired at the striking press. Late strikes of Tasmanian merchant tokens are frequently found in degraded die state, which is precisely the diagnostic for distinguishing genuine late-production pieces from later restrikes made for the collector trade, a distinction that matters considerably for this series.