1 Penny - Annand Smith Melbourne, Victoria

Annand Smith & Co. operated as a general merchant in early Melbourne at a moment when the colonial copper supply was genuinely inadequate for day-to-day commerce. The discovery of gold at Ballarat and Bendigo in 1851 made the problem acute — bullion flooded in while small change remained scarce, and tradesmen like Annand Smith filled the gap with privately issued tokens. This was legally tolerated in Victoria until the colonial government moved to suppress private coinage in the mid-1850s.

The Andrews and Gray references list two distinct varieties, indicating at least two separate die commissions during the issue window.