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1/2 Penny Middlesex - Palmer's Mail Coach
| Issuer | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | 1797 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 28 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays a royal or merchant cypher enclosed within a laurel or oak wreath, surrounded by a dedicatory legend arranged along the periphery. The inscription honours John Palmer, the postal reformer credited with establishing the mail coach system. The entire design is framed by a toothed (dentilated) border, characteristic of late 18th-century Conder token production. |
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| Reverse description | A Royal Mail coach drawn by four horses at full gallop is depicted in vigorous motion, the horses shown under the whip in a dynamic compositional arrangement typical of late Georgian engraving. A guard is positioned at the rear of the coach, and a passenger is visible looking through the coach window, lending narrative detail to the scene. A legend appears above the central device, with an exergual inscription below. The entire design is contained within a toothed (dentilated) border consistent with Conder token convention. |
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| Additional information |
Middlesex copper tokens flooded British commerce in the 1790s to compensate for a catastrophic shortage of regal small change — the Royal Mint had effectively abandoned copper coinage for decades. Palmer's Mail Coach tokens specifically reference John Palmer's mail coach system, introduced in 1784, which revolutionized postal delivery by replacing the old foot-post with timed coach routes running under contract. The General Post Office initially resisted Palmer's scheme bitterly before the Treasury forced its adoption.
DH#366 falls within Dalton and Hamer's Middlesex classification, the most extensively catalogued of all conder token series.