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1/2 Penny Warwickshire – Birmingham / Coining and Copper Co.
| Issuer | Birmingham Coining and Copper Company |
|---|---|
| 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 |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A stork standing upright atop a cornucopia, the horn's terminal end rendered with a notably pointed form; two foliate leaves spring from the cornucopia and curve to embrace the first limb of the letter H in the legend. A continuous Latin legend encircles the central device. The stork and cornucopia together symbolise provision and plenty, consistent with the commercial messaging of Conder token issuers of the period. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Birmingham Coining and Copper Company occupied a peculiar position in the 1790s provincial token trade: it was simultaneously a manufacturer of tokens for other issuers and an issuer in its own right. This self-referential piece — a token-maker advertising its own services on its own token — circulated during the acute small-change shortage that followed the Royal Mint's near-total neglect of copper coinage after 1775. Parliament had authorized no new regal copper for nearly two decades, leaving merchants and manufacturers to flood the country with private issues.
Dalton & Hamer 75 is among the more readily encountered of the firm's own issues, suggesting it saw genuine commercial distribution rather than serving purely as a trade specimen.