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Farthing - Dorset Dorchester / Town
| Issuer | Town of Dorchester |
|---|---|
| Year | 1659 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | English Trade Tokens (1648-72) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Central device depicting the arms of Dorchester: a castellated town gate or fortress with three towers, the central tower surmounted by a crown, rendered in relief within the field. The design closely follows the civic heraldic device of the borough. A circular Latin legend surrounds the central device, separated from it by a beaded or plain inner border. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Edge | Plain. |
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| Additional information |
Dorchester's farthing tokens emerge from the acute small-change crisis that gripped England after the Civil War left royal coinage infrastructure in disarray and Parliament repeatedly failed to authorize a national copper issue. Traders and municipal authorities filled the vacuum themselves, issuing local tokens that were technically illegal tender but practically indispensable. Dorchester's civic involvement in issuing — rather than leaving the matter to individual tradesmen — reflects the town's unusually organized municipal character, itself shaped by its strong Puritan administration during the Interregnum.
The Dickinson reference numbers 53–56 indicate at least four die varieties for this issue, a detail worth noting when cross-referencing with Boyne-Williamson 38.