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1/2 Penny Sussex - Brighton / W. Mighells
| Issuer | W. Mighells, Brighton |
|---|---|
| Year | 1794 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of a helmeted figure facing right, rendered in the classical manner, occupying the majority of the flan. The helmet is of the Grecian type with a prominent crest. The legend THOMAS SEYMOUR curves around the upper periphery in raised Latin capitals, serving as both an identification of the depicted figure and a merchant association. The portrait is boldly struck with strong relief against a flat, unadorned field. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | THOMAS SEYMOUR |
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| Additional information |
William Mighells operated as a hardware and general merchant in Brighton during the 1790s, a period when the Royal Mint's chronic failure to produce adequate small-denomination coinage had effectively handed token production to provincial tradesmen. The Conder token boom of 1787–1797 filled that vacuum, and merchants like Mighells issued halfpennies primarily as a form of local advertising — each token spent was a traveling business card.
DH#11 places this within Dalton and Hamer's Sussex sequence. Brighton issues from this decade are moderately scarce; the town was growing rapidly under Prince George's patronage but remained small enough that surviving circulation numbers are limited.