Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Penny - S. Hague Smith Auckland
| Issuer | S. Hague Smith |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863-1869 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | 34.2 mm |
| 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 |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Bare-headed right-facing bust of Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria, rendered in fine relief with naturalistic hair detail. The portrait is centrally positioned within a beaded inner border. The encircling legend reads PRINCE ALBERT BORN AUGT 26 1819 DIED DECR 14 1861, commemorating the prince's birth and death dates. The engraving is attributed to W.J. Taylor of London and reflects the medallic portrait tradition of the mid-Victorian period. The field surrounding the bust is smooth and unadorned. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Smooth |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
S. Hague Smith operated as a wholesale and retail merchant in Auckland during the 1860s, a period when the New Zealand colonial government had issued insufficient small-denomination coinage to meet everyday transactional demand. Tradesmen's tokens like this one filled that gap practically — they circulated alongside official issues and were accepted by mutual consent rather than legal obligation.
The token ordinance of 1881 eventually rendered all such pieces illegal tender, but by then most had already been withdrawn or melted. Survivors in collectible condition are accordingly scarce, and the R#464–469 range reflects meaningful die variation across the emission period.