Catalog
1/2 Penny Regal Imitation - George III left
| Issuer | Canadian provinces |
|---|---|
| Year | 1835 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse depicts a seated figure of Britannia, rendered in a simplified and poorly defined manner consistent with the imitative nature of this token issue. Britannia is shown in the conventional posture, with a shield and trident suggested by the crude die engraving. The single word legend BRITANNIA appears around the periphery of the field. The overall workmanship is rudimentary, reflecting the unofficial and emergency character of the piece. Heavy wear and corrosion largely obscure the finer details of the design. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
These brass imitations circulated in the absence of any official colonial copper coinage — not as counterfeits, but as a tolerated commercial necessity. Merchants and token issuers in Lower Canada flooded the market with lightweight brass pieces throughout the 1830s, most bearing regal imagery specifically to suggest official sanction they did not have. The CCT BL-2 attribution places this among a loose family of "blacksmith" and regal imitation tokens whose actual origin remains largely unattributed to any specific issuer or workshop.