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Message:: [QUOTE="Catbert, post: 549925, member: 12718"]I am an excitable boy, they all said! Take a look at my new piece that is a beautifully preserved 1794 Half Penny Hampshire British token (D&H 55) honoring a John Howard who was a common man who single handedly reformed prison conditions not only in England, but throughout Europe. I'll post the obverse of the token first, quote some research of history about Howard next, then talk about the stunning reverse! <img src="http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh297/IndianaCatbert/1794%20Hampshire%20Portsm%2055/Hampsh55Obv2.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> A Bit of History: Howard wrote The State of Prisons that was not only groundbreaking in terms of prison reform, but was a monument to John Howard's ability to be thorough, detailed and constructive. It includes a general study of the distress in prisons, proposed improvements, a detailed analysis of prison conditions and statistical tables. Parliament passed two more prison Acts, in 1778 and 1781. Aware that making it law doesn't automatically ensure the changes will be made quickly, Howard continued touring the prisons of England and Europe. He not only collected information about conditions, but revisited many to monitor the progress of reforms (Godber, 1977, pp.10-11). For the next several years, John Howard worked ceaselessly, making five more tours of European prisons, as well as visiting those in England. He kept up with his responsibilities at his Cardington estate as well. Health matters concerned him increasingly, inspiring him to publish a second book in 1789 on Lazarettos - the plague ships.  His stamina became legendary. It was hard to imagine that he was once a sickly, delicate youth. He could ride 40 miles a day, needed little sleep and could withstand considerable heat and cold. On one of his trips to Ireland he gave up his berth to a maid servant and slept on deck. He maintained his simple vegetarian diet of fruit, vegetables, bread and milk or tea. One of the reasons he chose traveling by horseback was to disperse the bad odours from the jail he had been visiting, although he took pains to change his clothes as soon afterwards as possible. In 1786 he even traveled to Venice on a plague-infested ship in order to observe firsthand the conditions on a Lazaretto (Godber, 1977, pp.11-12). However, his spartan regimen cannot account for all of his extraordinary ability to withstand the physical demands, pestilence and filth of his prison tours. His friends observed that by this time John Howard possessed an air of purpose, serenity and vigor that seemed to surround him like a magic cloak. Howard himself wrote, "Being in the way of my duty, I fear no evil" (Godber, 1977, p.12). <a href="http://www.johnhoward.ab.ca/PUB/C3.htm" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.johnhoward.ab.ca/PUB/C3.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.johnhoward.ab.ca/PUB/C3.htm</a> The Token's Reverse While the whole token is in amazing condition for something this old, the reverse has some stunning very fine die polish lines going every which way. <img src="http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh297/IndianaCatbert/1794%20Hampshire%20Portsm%2055/Hampsh55Rev1.jpg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> The reverse show the arms of the town of Portsmouth. The tower has the arms of Chichester which is in Sussex.  I wish I could show this one in person....it is truly a stunner and I am not the best photographer. In any case, I hope you enjoyed seeing this piece from afar![/QUOTE]

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