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1/2 Penny Sir Isaac Brock
| Issuer | Upper Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1812 |
| Type | Emergency coin |
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| Obverse lettering | SUCCESS TO THE COMMERCE OF UPPR & LOWR CANADA . |
| Reverse description | The reverse field is entirely occupied by a seven-line commemorative inscription in capital letters, all within a beaded border, honouring Sir Isaac Brock, the British general who commanded Upper Canadian forces during the War of 1812. The text identifies him as a Baronet and Hero of Upper Canada and records his death at the Battle of Queenston Heights on 13 October 1812. No pictorial device is present; the legend itself constitutes the entire design. The lettering is bold and evenly spaced, typical of British colonial token production of the period. A suspension hole is visible at the top of the flan. |
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| Additional information |
Isaac Brock died at Queenston Heights in October 1812, killed by a sniper's bullet during one of the decisive engagements of the War of 1812. These copper tokens were not government issue — they circulated as merchant tokens to address the chronic small-change shortage that plagued Upper Canada throughout the early nineteenth century, a problem the colonial administration persistently failed to solve through official coinage. The timing of Brock's death made his face commercially useful almost immediately; his battlefield death elevated him to hero status in British Canada within weeks.
Breton 723 is the standard attribution, though die-struck varieties exist with differing edge treatments.