1/2 Penny - Paddington New Church Middlesex - Skidmore

This is a Skidmore-issued tradesman's token from the height of the 1790s copper token boom, when a chronic shortage of regal small change — caused largely by the government's decades-long neglect of the copper coinage — forced merchants, manufacturers, and parishes alike to commission their own circulating pieces. Skidmore of Clerkenwell was among the most prolific token issuers and distributors of the period, supplying pieces to a wide range of clients across London and beyond.

Paddington New Church — St. Mary's, consecrated in 1791 — was barely finished when this token entered circulation.