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1/2 Penny Middlesex - National Series / Princess of Wales
| Issuer | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 1795 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 10 g |
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| Obverse description | Three-quarter draped bust of Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales, facing left, her hair elaborately curled and dressed with a decorative ornament, wearing a pearl necklace and a gown with ornate drapery. The peripheral legend PRINCESS OF WALES runs around the upper field, separated from the portrait by a toothed border. The overall style is characteristic of late 18th-century English Conder token engraving. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
This piece belongs to the flood of privately issued halfpenny tokens that effectively kept British small commerce functioning through the 1780s and 1790s, when the Royal Mint had so catastrophically neglected copper coinage that counterfeit halfpennies reportedly outnumbered genuine ones in circulation. The "National Series" was a catch-all commercial venture — diesinkers producing flattering portrait tokens of royals and celebrities for sale to merchants who needed small change, not numismatic souvenirs.
Davison & Hancock's reference DH#977 places this among the better-documented Middlesex issues. Matthew Boulton's lobbying eventually killed the private token trade with the Coinage Act of 1797.