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1/2 Penny Wholesale and Retail Hardware Store
| Issuer | W.A. & S. Black (Halifax, Nova Scotia) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1816 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Penny (1⁄480) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| 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 |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central device composed of a symmetrical arrangement of hardware trade implements: two shovels crossed at the top, a barrel in the lower center, a saw to the left, and a scythe to the right, forming a decorative merchant emblem. A circular legend surrounds the device, reading PAYABLE AT W.A & S. BLACK'S . HALIFAX . N.S., identifying the issuing merchant firm and place of redemption. The overall composition is typical of Nova Scotia merchant token design of the early 19th century. |
| 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 |
The Black brothers operated one of Halifax's more established hardware concerns in the early nineteenth century, issuing this token during a period when small change was genuinely hard to find in British North America. The Royal Mint supplied coins erratically, and colonial merchants routinely filled the gap themselves — legally tolerated, if never formally sanctioned. W.A. & S. Black's token circulated alongside a chaotic mix of other merchant pieces, counterfeit halfpence, and worn British copper that Halifax's economy absorbed without much discrimination.
The Breton 893 attribution places it firmly within the documented Nova Scotia merchant token series. The CCT NS-15B designation reflects at least one catalogued variety distinction within the type.