Catalog
1 Penny - De Carle, E and Co Melbourne, Victoria
| Issuer | E. De Carle & Co, Melbourne |
|---|---|
| Year | 1855 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 15.1 g |
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| Reverse description | A seated allegorical figure of Justice occupies the centre of the field, blindfolded and holding a balance scale in her right hand, her gaze directed to the left. In the background behind the figure, a sailing vessel is depicted underway to the right, evoking the maritime commerce of colonial Victoria. The entire central composition is enclosed within a beaded circle, with a circumferential legend in raised Latin letters reading MELBOURNE VICTORIA 1855 around the periphery. The design is framed by an outer beaded border consistent with contemporary trade token practice. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
E. De Carle & Co operated as a general hardware and ironmongery merchant in Melbourne during the gold rush years, when the colony of Victoria was flooded with diggers and the official copper coinage from Britain arrived too slowly and in insufficient quantities to meet demand. Private tradesmen's tokens filled that gap — not by formal permission, but by practical necessity. The Colonial Treasury repeatedly failed to resolve the small-change shortage, leaving merchants to issue their own.
Andrews #103 places this among the better-documented Victorian copper tokens of the period.