Catalog
1 Penny Douglas - Atlas Office
| Issuer | Isle of Man |
|---|---|
| Year | 1811 |
| Type | Emergency coin |
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| Obverse description | Central field features a kneeling figure of Atlas supporting a globe upon his back, depicted in left-facing profile in a neoclassical style. The figure rests upon a low platform or exergual line, his musculature rendered in bold relief. A circular Latin legend surrounds the central device, reading PAYABLE AT THE OFFICE DOUGLAS, separated from the rim by a continuous toothed border. |
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| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | PAYABLE AT THE OFFICE DOUGLAS |
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| Additional information |
Issued by the Atlas Office — a Douglas-based commercial firm — during a period when official copper coinage for the Isle of Man had effectively dried up, this piece is a trade token rather than a government issue. Britain's chronic small-change shortage in the late 18th and early 19th centuries pushed merchants across the British Isles to commission their own copper tokens, and the Isle of Man was no exception. The practice was eventually suppressed by the Copper Coinage Act of 1821, which made private token issue illegal and rendered pieces like this one obsolete almost immediately upon enforcement.