1/2 Penny Middlesex - London / Davidson's

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.