Hampshire 1791 half penny token D&H-89
The first specimen was lot 40234 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it sold for $528. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Trade Tokens. Hampshire. Portsmouth. Taylor & Moody's Silver 1/2 Penny Token, 1791. PCGS MS-62. A RARE variant in silver, this specimen exhibits a lightly toned nature along with great lustrous brilliance remaining. From the Richard Margolis Collection." The second specimen was lot 74893 in Stack's Bowers Collectors Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, September 2024), where it sold for $125. The catalog description[2] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Trade Tokens. Hampshire. Portsmouth. Taylor & Moody's Copper 1/2 Penny Token, 1791. PCGS MS-64 Brown. D&H-89. Edge: PAYABLE AT THE OFFICE OF W. TAYLOR. R. V. MOODY & CO. A pleasing and well struck example of the type, with lighter luster in the protected peripheral areas. From the Richard Margolis Collection." This is not an issue of Portsmouth but of neighboring Southampton. Bevis of Hampton or Sir Bevois was a legendary English hero and the subject of Anglo-Norman and other medieval chivalric romances that bear his name.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper, the first specimen struck in silver.
Catalog reference: D&H-89 note.
- Conder, James. An arrangement of Provincial Coins, tokens, and medalets issued in Great Britain, Ireland, and the colonies, within the last twenty years, from the farthing to the penny size. Ipswich: G. Jermyn, 1798.
- Dalton, Richard, and Samuel H. Hamer. The Provincial Token Coinage of the 18th Century. 1910-1917.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2024 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Emilio M. Ortiz Collection, The Richard Margolis Collection and The Rutherford Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
- [2]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, September 2024 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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