Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;scottishmoney, post: 550985, member: 12789&quot;]<img src="http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/2131/marchobv.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Must have been a cheese merchant, while that instrument doesn&#039;t look familiar to us in the 21st century, it is for cutting cheese.</p><p><br /></p><p>That is what I love about these tokens, they are sort of a link to a past that is otherwise overlooked.&nbsp; They are a serious little darkside for me - they are very personal and can often be linked to a particular person on a particular street or lane in a town.&nbsp; Because of record keeping then you can sometimes find out something about the issuers, their address, occupation, family, even religion sometimes.</p><p><br /></p><p>This piece is normally too plain for me to collect, but I could trace the issuer:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.geocities.com/scottishmoney/17thtokens/17thbucks1.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Issued by Edward Pursell(Purcell) in Bucks in 1668, there are still Pursells, Purcells in that part of Bucks county to this day.</p><p><br /></p><p>The baker, the brewer and the candlestick maker all issued tokens, this from a candle maker:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.geocities.com/scottishmoney/17thtokens/17thcambridge1.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Thomas Ewin of Cambridge, he was the son of John Ewin then the Mayor of Cambridge, and their house at 69 Bridge St. still stands.</p><p><br /></p><p>This is one of my faves because of the little raven on the piece:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.geocities.com/scottishmoney/17thtokens/17thgloucester.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Not noted on the token, but for the initials, this was issue by William Warwick in Gloucester in 1650, for his Raven Taverne.&nbsp; Perhaps this piece was given out in change for a purchase of a mug of meade.</p><p><br /></p><p>This piece is from an inn, which was built ca. 1490 and owned by the Searancke family since early in the 16th century:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="http://www.geocities.com/scottishmoney/17thtokens/17thhertfordshire.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Notice the early spelling convention of their family name.&nbsp; This piece is from Hatfield Herts.&nbsp; The chequerboard usually signified an inn, chequers being a prominent game of chance then.</p><p><br /></p><p>So yes, indeed, perhaps we are the only collectors of these pieces.&nbsp; And I have been asked by sellers in the UK why I was interested in such distant pieces.&nbsp; They are very personal, and so easy to tie to a particular person that lived some 340+ years ago, and note their occupation, location etc. </p><p><br /></p><p>I will post some more to the 17th century thread later today.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in