1 Penny - J. W. and G. Williams Eaglehawk, Victoria

Eaglehawk was a gold rush satellite of Bendigo, and by 1857 the chronic shortage of official small change across the Victorian goldfields had pushed merchants into issuing their own copper tokens to keep trade moving. The Williams firm — grocers and general merchants — was among dozens of traders who effectively deputized themselves as local mints. Token issues like this one circulated on trust and local reputation rather than any legal authority, and were systematically demonetized following the Victorian Copper Coinage Act of 1869, which is precisely why so many were melted rather than saved.