Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Penny Middlesex - London / Davidson's
| Issuer | T. & R. Davidson |
|---|---|
| Year | 1795 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Milled |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | A radiating triangle, symbolic of the constitutional balance of power, is balanced upon a sphere and supported on either side by two clasped hands, with a royal crown positioned above the apex. The legend surrounding the design names the three estates of the realm, separated by decorative stops, with the word CONSTITUTION completing the motto. The design conveys a strong political message reflecting late 18th-century British constitutional ideals. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Lettered |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Davidson's was among dozens of tradesmen issuing copper tokens during the 1790s to fill the catastrophic shortage of regal small change — the Royal Mint had produced virtually no copper coinage since 1775, leaving commerce in much of Britain dependent on private issues. The Middlesex series became the largest and most chaotic of these token groups, with quality and intent ranging from legitimate trade pieces to outright speculative issues struck purely for collector sale.
DH#295 sits on the collector-speculation end of that spectrum. Dalton and Hamer's attribution places it among tokens with no confirmed surviving trade connection to an actual Davidson's business premises.