1 Penny Birmingham and Swansea - Rose Copper Co.

The Rose Copper Company operated smelting works at Swansea and issued these tokens during the acute small-change shortage that plagued Britain throughout the Napoleonic Wars, when the Royal Mint had effectively abandoned copper coinage for over a decade. Private token issues filled the void commercially, and the Welsh copper industry — then supplying a significant share of the world's refined copper — was well-positioned to strike its own. Davis 98 is the commoner of the Rose Copper tokens; Withers 277 distinguishes a specific die pairing that collectors of Glamorganshire provincial issues track separately.