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1/2 Penny Imitation - Ships, Colonies and Commerce
| Issuer | Canadian provinces |
|---|---|
| Year | 1835 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
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| Obverse description | A full-rigged frigate under sail, depicted in profile sailing to the right, flying a straight rectangular pennant from the mainmast. No square hollow appears adjacent to the mainmast, and the guys joining the mainmast bear no balls, while the balls at the other mastheads are rendered small. A short spike projects from the stern, and the afterbrace of the mizzenmast connects to the flagstaff. The ensign at the stern droops slightly downward. The composition closely parallels the BL-2A5 variety. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse bears a four-line inscription in capital Latin letters arranged in the central field, reading SHIPS COLONIES & COMMERCE. The first letter S of SHIPS is positioned slightly to the right of the first letter O of COLONIES, serving as a distinguishing variety characteristic. The lettering is rendered in a plain, upright roman typeface without additional ornamentation or border devices beyond the milled edge. |
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| Additional information |
The "Ships, Colonies and Commerce" tokens flooded Lower Canada during the 1830s when chronic small-change shortages left merchants and workers with almost nothing under a shilling to conduct daily trade. They were struck in Birmingham by multiple private diesinkers — none of them authorized by any colonial government — and imported in bulk by merchants who profited from issuing them at face value against a metal cost far below that. The BL-26 variety is among the more common survivors of a sprawling token family that Breton catalogued with considerable difficulty, given how many dies were cut by different hands for the same basic purpose.