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1/2 Penny Somerset - Bath / F. Heath
| Issuer | F. Heath, Ironmonger, Bath |
|---|---|
| Year | 1795 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | SUCCESS TO THE BATH WATERS * BLADUD FOUNDER OF BATH * |
| Reverse description | A detailed architectural elevation of the West Front of the New Pump Room in Bath, rendered with careful attention to the building's neoclassical facade. The structure's columns, pediment, and principal decorative features are faithfully depicted in the field. The issuer's name and trade designation appear in the lower legend, with the date 1795 incorporated into the inscription. The legend above identifies the depicted building, while the lower legend attributes the token to Heath, ironmonger of Bath. |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
F. Heath operated as an ironmonger in Bath during the acute small-change shortage of the 1790s, when the Royal Mint had essentially abandoned copper coinage production for over a decade. Provincial tradesmen across Britain stepped into the void by commissioning their own tokens, which circulated as functional currency by mutual local acceptance rather than any legal authority. Heath's token was struck by a commercial diesinker — almost certainly one of the Birmingham trade button and token manufacturers who dominated the provincial token industry during this period.
Batty's cataloguing places this piece at #670 within a substantial Bath sequence, reflecting how densely tokenized the Somerset region became by 1795.