Catalog
1/2 Penny Sir Isaac Brock
| Issuer | Upper Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1816 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 5 g |
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| Obverse description | A three-masted sailing vessel shown in full profile occupies the central field, depicted with sails furled and rigging detailed in relief. The ship rests upon a stylized waterline, conveying mercantile themes associated with the commerce of the Canadas. A circular legend surrounds the central device, reading continuously around the periphery of the coin. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | SUCCESS TO COMMERCE & PEACE TO THE WORLD * 1816 * |
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| Additional information |
Brock died at Queenston Heights in October 1812, and these tokens were struck commercially — almost certainly in Birmingham — as private merchant tokens to fill the chronic small-change shortage that plagued Upper Canada throughout the early nineteenth century. They were not issued by any colonial authority. The Breton classification places them firmly in the merchant token tradition, produced years after Brock's death by entrepreneurs exploiting his considerable local popularity.
Die-link studies have connected several of these pieces to Birmingham token manufacturers active in the 1810s, though attribution to a single producer remains contested.