1/2 Penny Ships, Colonies and Commerce

Prince Edward Island had no authority to issue official coinage in 1815 — this token was a private commercial issue, circulating by necessity rather than sanction. The island's chronic shortage of small change was a persistent complaint throughout the early nineteenth century, and merchants regularly imported anonymous copper and brass tokens to fill the gap left by scarce British regal coinage.

The CCT PE-9A designation distinguishes this brass striking from the more commonly encountered copper examples of the same type; brass pieces are considerably scarcer and were almost certainly not the primary production run.