Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1/2 Penny - W.D. Wood Hobart, Tasmania
| Issuer | W.D. Wood, Montpellier Retreat Inn, Hobart Town |
|---|---|
| Year | 1855-1857 |
| 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 | 28 mm |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse bears an entirely typographic design arranged across multiple lines in the central field, reading PAYABLE / ON DEMAND HERE / MONTPELLIER RETREAT / INN, / HOBART TOWN / W.D.WOOD, with the denomination legend ONE HALFPENNY TOKEN arcing around the upper periphery. All lettering is in bold, raised capital Roman characters. A decorative ornament or dash separates the proprietor's name at the base. The design is enclosed within a beaded border consistent with the obverse. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
W.D. Wood operated the Montpellier Retreat Inn during a period when Van Diemen's Land was transitioning into Tasmania and the colonial copper shortage was acute enough that private traders routinely issued their own token currency to make change. These merchant tokens circulated on trust rather than legal authority, and their acceptance depended entirely on the issuer's local reputation. Wood's establishment was substantial enough to sustain that trust.
The Andrews, Renniks, and Gray references all catalogue this piece, reflecting the depth of collector interest in Australian colonial tokens as a distinct field — one where provenance to a specific named business adds measurable premium over anonymous issues.