Catbert's FUN Haul - (2) Skidmore Conder Token

My second new piece of four acquired at FUN is a Conder token. I had not anticipated finding decent Conders at this show, but when I came across this one, I had to have it. The seller happened to be the ANA's General Counsel, Ron Sirna, who has recently taken a liking to this type of coinage and has 100s in his inventory and collection. He and I had a great conversation at the show and I was in the rare position of educating him on a few of the Conders in his case! :kewl:

As a reminder, Conder tokens (otherwise known as British provincial tokens) were produced in the late 1700s due to merchants needing small change that the Crown would not produce in sufficient quantity. Merchants needed some way to pay their increasing workforces during the Industrial Revolution in Britain. They eventually became so popular that several minters produced specialty pieces just for collectors to trade among themselves.

This is such a piece and was one of many made in the 1790s by a Peter Skidmore. His pieces depict several famous buildings in London. While the piece was considered to be a penny and has an edge inscription "I PROMISE TO PAY", they did not see much circulation.

This token depicts St. Pancras, a hospital that treated small pox victims. It was estimated that 60% of the population became infected with it being fatal to about 20% of the population. An English physician named Edward Jenner was instrumental in discoverying a vaccine and applied it to the sick at St. Pancras.

Interestingly, a British satirist named "James Gillray caricatured a vaccination scene at St. Pancras, showing Edward Jenner vaccinating frightened young women, and cows emerging from different parts of people's bodies."



"The cartoon was inspired by the controversy over inoculating against the dread disease, smallpox. The inoculation agent, cowpox vaccine, was rumored to have the ability to sprout cow-like appendages. A serene Edward Jenner stands amid the crowd. A boy next to Jenner holds a container labeled "VACCINE POCK hot from ye COW"; papers in the boy's pocket are labeled "Benefits of the Vaccine". The tub on the desk next to Jenner is labeled "OPENING MIXTURE". A bottle next to the tub is labeled "VOMIT". The painting on the wall depicts worshippers of the Golden Calf."

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_cow_pock.jpg

And now for the coin - at last! I selected this token for its wonderful 100% red obverse and to own a piece with such an odd theme for a coin - small pox! It is about the size of a silver dollar too!



The reverse isn't as compelling as the obverse. Brown copper is so hard for me to photograph clearly (especially in a slab) and I haven't done very well getting proper lighting. The rim reads: P. SKIDMORE * MEDAL MAKER * COPPICE - ROW * CLERKENWELL <>. I am assuming that is his coat-of-arms in the center.



So, there you have a story to go along with my 2nd of 4 coins from the show!

 

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Very nice!! That is one beautiful token!

 

Your Conder token are a great addition to anyone's collection. I'm starting to crave them now.

Bruce

 

Very nice. I'm also starting to get interested in these because you post such interesting history and themes along with the pictures of your tokens.

 

Cat , your Condor collection is really getting there , all great pieces , keep up the good work .
rzage

 

Great token, Catbert. from my reading of the "Numismatography" thread on the Coins and Currency DB on eBay, it seems that an axial lighting setup gives the nicest results for copper. "larrymo" has some amazing images of tokens there.

 

Great information and a beautiful tken. How did you get interested in these to begin with?

 

Ah, this will be revealed in post number 3 of 4 regarding my FUN haul!

 

I have the popcorn on standby. With these beautiful tokens and their interesting history I'm expecting a reading worthy of them, anything less will not be accepted.

 

Yikes! Performance anxiety is setting in! :crying:

 

You are going to have the ball and you have to run with it. Not to put any pressure on you, but I now have a box of Goobers specially bought for this. Can't wait.

 

Goobers.

 

You, my friend, are hopelessly hooked.

 

Cool post!

Do you think the token carries any smallpox virus?

 

Thanks, Mr. Leadfoot (aka corporate slave!)

Well, in this case, the pox virus is safely encased in a NGC 64RB slab so no worry! On the other hand, Conders really don't belong in slabs so it may have to be freed in a quarantined area!

 

I posted a link somewhere else here .. Intros I guess, to some of my Conders. I really need to scan the rest but every time I start looking at them I just want more and it reminds me of how I need to get on the ball and look up the DH numbers etc .. I am always trying to catalog and never get it done.

I recently got one called the White Negress .. very unusual .. I get a big kick out of how people spoke their minds back then. There is one token I have with a mental hospital on it .. It called The Milford [I think] Lunatic Hospital. Makes me laugh ... Lunatic .. no beating around the bush !!

 

Another Update of an Old Thread

My old pictures really don't do this coin justice. This photo accurately captures the stunning obverse red/orange color, detail, and luster on this big chunk of old copper. Pics by Todd Pollock.

 

Dan, I love looking at your Conders - thanks for sharing them. And perhaps I missed something, but is there a link to post number 3 (and 4) somehwere so we can get the rest of this interesting story?

 

Great images of an intriguing token!

 

That think looks like it's ON FIRE!!! That's a great pict!!
Nice coin too.