1 Penny - W. Petersen Christchurch

W. Petersen operated as a merchant in Christchurch during the 1870s, a period when the chronic shortage of official small change in New Zealand drove dozens of provincial traders to commission their own copper tokens. These pieces were struck in Birmingham — almost certainly by the prolific token manufacturer John Thornton — and shipped out for local circulation. The Andrews, Roth, and Gray references all catalogue this piece, indicating it has been well-documented across the three major works on New Zealand tradesman's tokens, though Petersen himself remains a comparatively obscure figure in the historical record.