![]() Most such tokens show the issuer's full name or initials. Halfpenny and penny tokens usually, but not always, bear the denomination on their face.īrass trade token from Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory Most were not given a specific denomination and were intended to substitute for farthings, but there are also a large number of halfpenny and sometimes penny tokens. These tokens were most commonly made of copper or brass, but pewter, lead and occasionally leather tokens are also found. This shortage was felt more keenly because of the rapid growth of trade in the towns and cities, and this in turn prompted both local authorities and merchants to issue tokens. In England, the production of copper farthings was permitted by royal licence in the first few decades of the 17th century, but production ceased during the English Civil War and a great shortage of small change resulted. These tokens never received official sanction from government but were accepted and circulated quite widely. These tokens were in effect a pledge redeemable in goods, but not necessarily for currency. įrom the 17th to the early 19th century in the British Isles (and also elsewhere in the British Empire) and North America, tokens were commonly issued by merchants in times of acute shortage of coins of the state. Also, counters called jetons were used as small change without official blessing. These tokens circulated in nearby villages, where they were called "Abbot's money". Medieval English monasteries issued tokens to pay for services from outsiders. Their functions are not documented, but they appear to have been brothel tokens or possibly gaming tokens. Coin-like objects from the Roman Empire called spintriae have been interpreted as an early form of token.
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