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1/2 Penny The Illustrious Wellington - Waterloo
| Issuer | Lower Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1816 |
| Type | Emergency coin |
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| Obverse description | Left-facing laureate bust of the Duke of Wellington in military uniform, depicted with a laurel wreath upon his head and epauleted drapery at the shoulder. The portrait is rendered in low relief with fine detailing on the collar and uniform. The circumferential legend THE ILLUSTRIOUS WELLINGTON arcs around the upper and lower fields, closely following the coin's border. The field is otherwise plain, with no additional devices or exergual inscription. |
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| Obverse lettering | THE ILLUSTRIOUS WELLINGTON |
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| Additional information |
Issued in the year following Waterloo, this token was one of dozens of privately struck copper pieces flooding Lower Canada's chronic small-change vacuum. The merchant and banking establishment there had long relied on tokens because official British coinage rarely made it into circulation in sufficient quantities. Wellington's victory provided an obvious commercial hook for token issuers, and several competing varieties appeared within months of the battle.
Breton 981 is among the more common of the Wellington token series in Lower Canada, though survivors in sharp condition are harder to locate than raw numbers suggest — heavy commercial use was the norm.