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1/2 Penny Regal Imitation - George III left
| Issuer | Canadian provinces |
|---|---|
| Year | 1835 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Penny (1⁄480) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crude effigy of King George III as a bareheaded or lightly laureate bust facing left, executed in a rudimentary style characteristic of imitation regal coinage. The portrait is boldly but crudely rendered with minimal detail in the hair and truncation, filling the central field. No surrounding legend is present, consistent with the unofficial nature of this emergency token issue. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Crude allegorical figure of Britannia seated to the right, rendered in a highly schematic and primitive style typical of regal imitation tokens. She holds an upright spear or trident in her left hand and extends a spray of leaves in her right. A partial wheel or shield element is visible at lower left. The design fills the field without any surrounding legend or exergual inscription, reflecting the roughly executed nature of this unofficial Canadian emergency piece. |
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| Additional information |
These "regal imitations" occupied a legal grey zone — privately struck tokens designed to mimic official British coinage closely enough to circulate without question, yet sufficiently distinct to avoid outright forgery charges. By the 1830s, Lower Canada was chronically short of authorized small change, and merchants and speculators filled the void with tokens like this one, flooding the colony with brass that the public accepted out of sheer necessity. The Colonial Advocate estimated in 1833 that counterfeit and imitation copper accounted for the majority of small transactions in Montreal.
CCT#BL-11 is attributed to a Birmingham diesinker, almost certainly operating with full knowledge of the intended destination market.