Hobday and Jobberns operated as a general merchant and ironmongery business in Christchurch during New Zealand's provincial token era, when the colonial government had still not established a reliable supply of small change. These copper tradesmen's tokens circulated locally as a practical fix to that shortage, accepted on trust rather than legal authority. The Andrews references cover at least four distinct varieties, with differences in die alignment and minor legend spacing — enough variation to suggest multiple production runs from the same London-area diesinker.
Hobday and Jobberns operated as a general merchant and ironmongery business in Christchurch during New Zealand's provincial token era, when the colonial government had still not established a reliable supply of small change. These copper tradesmen's tokens circulated locally as a practical fix to that shortage, accepted on trust rather than legal authority. The Andrews references cover at least four distinct varieties, with differences in die alignment and minor legend spacing — enough variation to suggest multiple production runs from the same London-area diesinker.