Warwickshire (1790-94) half penny token D&H-61
This specimen was lot 73487 in Stack's Bowers May 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Auction (Costa Mesa, CA, May 2026), where it sold for $170.80. The catalog description[1] noted, "GREAT BRITAIN. Trade Tokens. Warwickshire. Birmingham. Copper 1/2 Penny Token, ND (ca. 1790). PCGS MS-64 Brown. Obverse: Mounted infantry left; Reverse: Hardy family coat-of-arms." A bit of Internet research shows the correct Hardy arms to be a silver shield with a blue cross engrailed between four black boars passant, whereas this token clearly shows four porcupines. Thomas Hardy (1769-1839) was a famous sea caption who served with admiral Nelson but his arms are completely different. Another Thomas Hardy (1752-1832) was a Scottish political reformer. Warwickshire, which contained the boom town of Birmingham, was second only to Middlesex (London) in the variety of tokens circulating within its boundaries.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper.
Catalog reference: D&H-61.
- 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, May 2026 World Premier Collectors Choice Online Auction - Ancients, World Coins & World Paper Money, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2026.
Link to:
- Warwickshire 1791 half penny token D&H-34, Birmingham
- Warwickshire 1793 half penny token D&H-50, Birmingham
- Warwickshire 1796 half penny token D&H-55, Birmingham
- Cambridgeshire 1795 farthing token D&H-36, INDUSTRY HAS ITS SURE REWARD
- Cambridgeshire 1795 1/2 penny token D&H-12, INDUSTRY HAS IT'S SURE REWARD
- Cambridgeshire 1795 1/2 penny token D&H-14b, INDUSTRY HAS IT'S SURE REWARD
- Coins and currency dated 1790