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1 Penny Magdalen island - Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st. Baronet
| Issuer | Lower Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1815 |
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| Value | 1 Penny (1⁄240) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Within a raised inner circle, a harbour seal is depicted in profile facing right, resting upon an ice floe rendered as a flat horizontal ledge. The animal is engraved with naturalistic detail, showing flippers and body contour. The circular legend MAGDALEN ISLAND TOKEN runs along the upper periphery, flanked by a continuous beaded border, while the date 1815 appears in the lower segment between two small star stops. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | MAGDALEN ISLAND TOKEN + 1815 + |
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| Additional information |
Sir Isaac Coffin obtained a grant to the Magdalen Islands in 1798 under circumstances that remain disputed — the islands already had several hundred Acadian settlers who found themselves effectively subjects of an absentee landlord with Royal Navy connections and considerable political reach. This token was issued not by any governmental authority but by Coffin personally, functioning as a private currency for the island economy he controlled. The Colonial Coinage Token references place it firmly within the broader Lower Canadian merchant token phenomenon of the early 19th century, when chronic shortages of official small change left commercial life dependent on private copper.
Coffin never permanently resided on the islands bearing his family's name.