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1/2 Penny Somerset - Bath / John Howard
| Issuer | Private Issue (Great Britain) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1794 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Penny (1⁄480) |
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| 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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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | JOHN HOWARD F.R.S. HALFPENNY |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | 1794: ND (1794) |
| Additional information |
John Howard, the prison reformer whose campaigns transformed carceral conditions across Britain and Europe, died in 1790 in Kherson while investigating plague hospitals in Russia — a death that burnished his reputation considerably. Bath's token issuers were quick to claim him as a civic emblem despite his having no particular connection to Somerset. The 1790s provincial token boom was driven by a near-total collapse in regal copper supply, and local merchants issued their own halfpennies freely, often attaching celebrated faces to maximise circulation acceptance.