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1 Penny - T.F. Merry and Co Toowoomba, Queensland
| Issuer | T.F. Merry and Co |
|---|---|
| Year | 1863 |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 2.2 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse displays an emblematic Australian coat of arms rendered in the colonial style, supported by an emu to the left and a kangaroo to the right, both facing inward toward the shield. The quartered shield bears pastoral and maritime symbols including a bull, a ram, a sheaf of wheat, and a ship, with a rising sun radiating rays above the crest. A flowing ribbon beneath the supporters carries the legend ADVANCE AUSTRALIA. The upper field bears the motto PEACE & PLENTY arcing along the periphery within a beaded border, framing the patriotic heraldic composition in a manner typical of mid-nineteenth-century Australian tradesmen's tokens engraved by W.J. Taylor. |
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| Reverse lettering | PEACE & PLENTY ADVANCE AUSTRALIA |
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| Additional information |
T.F. Merry and Co. operated a general store in Toowoomba during the 1860s, a period when the Queensland colonial government had not yet resolved the chronic shortage of small-denomination currency plaguing inland towns. Merchants across the colony turned to privately issued trade tokens as a practical solution, commissioning them from British manufacturers — most commonly the Birmingham firm of John Heaton & Sons — who supplied the bulk of Australian colonial copper.
The Andrews, Renniks, and Gray listings place this among the documented Queensland merchant issues, a category that saw heavy attrition through actual commerce rather than hoarding.