1/2 Penny - Wallace, James Wellington

James Wellington Wallace operated as a merchant in Auckland during the late 1850s, and his tradesman's tokens — issued privately to address the chronic shortage of small change in the colony — circulated widely at a time when official British copper coinage rarely reached New Zealand in sufficient quantities. The Colonial government tolerated such issues out of practical necessity, though the practice was eventually suppressed as official supply improved.

Andrews 593 is among the more frequently encountered Wallace pieces, suggesting a healthy original mintage, almost certainly struck in Birmingham.