Robert Orchard issued quite a few tokens during the Conder era, many featuring (who else?) himself! According to R.C. Bell, a contemporary collector of tokens named Thomas Woodward had noted in his copy of 'Conder'; "Robert Orchard, apprentice to a grocer in St. John Street, Clerkenwell, whose vanity has induced him to have engraved several tokens with his bust." Here's an image of Orchard from the National Portrait Gallery in London along with his penny token of 1803. If you have any of Orchard's tokens, here's a good place to post them!
I have 1 Orchard token - a Middlesex 399 from Bill McKivor, part of lot 217 of the Gerson sale. No picture though We should compare these 2 sometime as they both were part of the Gerson collection.
I wonder how a grocer's apprectice could afford to mint his own tokens? I suppose it was a good way to meet women...
