Catalog
Token - 1/2 Penny Warwickshire - Stratford
| Issuer | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Penny (1⁄480) |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Draped bust of William Shakespeare facing left, with beard and period collar, occupying the central field. The peripheral legend reads . SHAKESPEAR . in raised Latin capitals, distributed around the circumference. The portrait is rendered in a classical engraving style typical of late 18th-century provincial token coinage. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Standing figure of Britannia, helmeted and draped, facing left and holding a long trident or staff upright in her right hand, with a large oval shield at her left side. The figure is depicted in a commanding pose against a plain field. The circular legend RULE BRITANNIA is distributed around the periphery in raised Latin capitals. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Issued in the early 1790s when the Royal Mint had so thoroughly neglected copper coinage that genuine halfpennies were outnumbered in circulation by counterfeits — some estimates suggest counterfeit coppers accounted for over half of all small change in England by 1787. Provincial merchants and tradesmen responded by commissioning their own tokens from private diesinkers, flooding the country with what collectors now call the Conder series. The Stratford piece ties directly to the Shakespeare tourist trade already well established in the town following Garrick's 1769 Jubilee, which transformed Stratford into a pilgrimage destination and generated steady demand for locally-branded commercial currency.