Well, I just typed out an incredibly long, detailed description of this coin I found in my house....and for whatever reason, when I hit the submit button, the website told me I wasn't logged in, and the entire thing was erased. So here's my shortended version..... I have this coin. I know nothing about coins, and am hoping you can help tell me something about it. It's copper or bronze....I don't know the difference. On one side, there's a guy's head, looking to my right hand side. Around his head, along the edge, it says, "John Wilkinson Iron Master", from left to right, going clockwise. On the other side, there's another guy. This guy's whole body is there. He's wearing a toga looking outfit, sitting down (also facing right), hammering something. In the background in the bottom right side, you can kind of see the sails of a boat. He kind of looks like a greek God or something, with the toga outfit, long hair and a beard. Above him, it says "Half Penny". Below him, it says "1790". I'm not expecting it to be worth much, I just found it in my house, and am interested in where it came from and junk...thanks.
Its actually a token, not a coin. Created by John Wilkinson, owner of a group of iron foundries in Britain, and "intended as payment for wages on a local basis, not for a larger circulation" See the following link for more info: http://victoria.tc.ca/Recreation/VNS/articles/wilkinson/wilktoken.htm I'm not sure of its value, but I expect it won't be much. A few years ago I picked one up that has the same design you described, but from 1793. Mine is in reasonable condition (I'm not particularly good with grading) and I only paid NZ$0.75, about 50 US cents.
Andrew is right, what you have is not a coin but instead a token. In regards to the value though, I would estimate it at more like $10 to $20 based on some quick research. It should be noted however, that Tokens are not my speciality. As with coins, minor variations in design or condition could result in substantial differences in the value of the item. I would suggest that you speak with someone who knows for sure before selling, trading, etc., your token.
Here's a link to a Condor Token club, where you might find out more about the value. You might also try a search on EBay for open and closed auctions of "Wilkinson Token", and possibly find some current value information.
I think satootoko meant to write "a Conder Token Club" not "a Condor Token Club ;-) The term comes from James Conder who was either the first, or one of the first, to catalog these types of tokens. A quick search with google (www.google.com) with the term "conder token" should result in a lot of other online resources as this is a relatively large number of people that collection tokens.
It's OK, based on my post where I clearly state "as this is a relatively large number of people" I was studying grammar in night school while you were taking spelling!
And cdcda is undoubtedly correct about the value. I was merely stating what I paid for mine (which now looks like it was a bit of a bargain).
Establishing value for items such as this can be difficult due to the lack of a large market. From a dealer perspective, the coin may be worth $10 - $20 but if their are no Conder Token collectors that frequent their shop or table at a show, the value becomes whatever the average collector is willing to pay.
