Australia (Melbourne): copper penny trade token; John Andrew & Co., Drapers, 1862

Australia (Melbourne): copper penny trade token; John Andrew & Co., Drapers, 1862

Obverse: MELBOURNE / Jno. ANDREW & Co DRAPERS & C. / 11 LONSDALE St. WEST. (“Jno.” is an old-fashioned abbreviation for “John”.)
Reverse: VICTORIA / 1862; emu and kangaroo, facing, on grassy ground. Tiny maker's mark in exergue reads: COARD / LONDON.
Issuer: John Andrew & Co., Drapers, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Struck in London, UK.
Specifications: Copper, 34 mm, 2.7 mm thick. Medal alignment (↑↑).
Grade: NGC MS62 BN, cert #2805276-011.
Reference: Krause-Mishler-Tn15, Numista-59099.
Provenance: ex-Chris Bower, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA ("Chris B" on CoinTalk). From his "WCN" (World Coin Nut) collection on the NGC Registry. Acquired in a swap, 16 September 2020.
Notes: Per Museums Victoria: "John Andrew was apprenticed to the drapery trade in Glasgow and was later successful in his own drapery business in Scotland. He migrated to Australia in 1853."
Comments: The quintessentially Australian "emu-and-kangaroo" motif here is of course what makes this token appealing to me, and no doubt to many other collectors as well. I believe these tokens are relatively scarce.










027500S

 

Technically the side with the merchant’s name is the obverse, though in my images (and the NGC slab), the emu/kangaroo side is displayed as the predominant side.

The surfaces look nicer and more even brown in hand than they do in these photos (which were taken through the plastic). I attempted to cross this piece over to PCGS, and would have had TrueView imaging if that had happened, but it failed to cross.