The Sierra Leone Company was a British abolitionist venture chartered in 1792 to govern the resettlement colony at Freetown, founded largely by Black Loyalists evacuated from Nova Scotia. These copper tokens were struck in 1791 in anticipation of that charter, intended to provide a functioning currency for a settlement that British colonial infrastructure had not yet formally recognized. The company's backers included Granville Sharp and William Wilberforce — men whose primary concern was the abolition of the slave trade, not monetary policy.
KM#4a designates the copper variant; a silver striking also exists, almost certainly a proof or presentation piece rather than a circulation issue.
The Sierra Leone Company was a British abolitionist venture chartered in 1792 to govern the resettlement colony at Freetown, founded largely by Black Loyalists evacuated from Nova Scotia. These copper tokens were struck in 1791 in anticipation of that charter, intended to provide a functioning currency for a settlement that British colonial infrastructure had not yet formally recognized. The company's backers included Granville Sharp and William Wilberforce — men whose primary concern was the abolition of the slave trade, not monetary policy.
KM#4a designates the copper variant; a silver striking also exists, almost certainly a proof or presentation piece rather than a circulation issue.