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 Prince Edward Island - Self government and free trade
| Issuer | Prince Edward Island |
|---|---|
| Year | 1857 |
| 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 | 5.1 g |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| 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 | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Prince Edward Island issued this halfpenny token in 1857 under a colonial arrangement that gave the island unusual latitude in managing its own trade affairs. The "free trade" inscription was a pointed political statement — PEI had long resisted the tariff structures imposed on other British North American colonies, partly to protect its timber and agricultural exports to Britain. Self-government had been granted in 1851, and this token effectively broadcast both achievements on circulating currency.
Struck in Birmingham by Heaton's mint, the issue filled a chronic small-change shortage on the island. The PE-7C designation distinguishes it from closely related varieties by die characteristics documented in Courteau's reference work.