Penny Tokens

[Guest Rich]

Hi,

I have a few penny tokens dated from 1805-1812 from Sheffield. My interest in them is purely from the fact I collect historical items of all description to do with Sheffield, but I was wondering if anyone on here could explain what the use of these things were?

I know this isn't exactly numes.....numismm.....numes....coin collecting but its about the closest site/forum I could find to get some information.

Cheers

Rich

[Chris Perkins 228]

It absolutely is Coin collecting! Pretty much anything made of metal that could be spent somewhere at some stage, is a coin.

The Sheffield tokens you are refering to are know as either just 19th Century regional tokens or 'Condor tokens'. They were issued by factories, merchants, rich people etc to be used locally as small change, and when you'd saved enough you could usually exchange them at a certain place (often stated on them) for regal 'proper' money.

Small change was very short at that time and the issuers got free advertising out of it, as well as making a profit on the ones that never found their way back! They didn't actually contain metal to the value of one penny/halfpenny/farthing.

After the so called Great recoinage in 1816 they were phased out and made illegal not long after. In fact they were never actually legal, they just were not illegal!

[Guest Rich]

Cheers for that Chris!