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1 Penny Middlesex - London / St. George's Hospital
| Issuer | St. George's Hospital |
|---|---|
| Year | 1791-1799 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Penny (1⁄240) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The arms of the City of London — a quartered shield bearing the Cross of St. George with a sword in the first quarter — are displayed prominently in the centre of the field, flanked symmetrically by two tall, feathery palm branches that extend upward and outward in a decorative wreath-like arrangement. A small ornamental rosette or quatrefoil device appears at the base of the design below the shield. The circular legend LONDON PENNY TOKEN runs along the upper periphery in evenly spaced Latin capitals, separated by a dot from the design. A raised beaded or plain inner border separates the legend from the central field. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Plain |
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| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
St. George's Hospital at Hyde Park Corner relied on trade tokens during the 1790s because the Royal Mint had effectively abandoned small copper coinage — official halfpennies and pennies were so debased and counterfeited by mid-century that commerce in London ground toward private solutions. The hospital's token circulated as part of the broader Conder token phenomenon, in which hundreds of provincial and metropolitan issuers flooded Britain with privately struck coppers between roughly 1787 and 1797.
Parliament's Coin Act of 1797 and Boulton's subsequent Soho Mint contract eventually killed the trade token trade, but enforcement was gradual enough that hospital-affiliated pieces like this continued circulating into the final years of the decade.