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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Conder101, post: 1036992, member: 66&quot;]During most of the 18th century coinage output from the Tower mint was very sporatic.&nbsp; While there was some silver and gold coinage (the nobility wanted to settle their debts in gold and silver) the production of copper coinage, which was what the common people used, was woefully inadequate.&nbsp; There was some production of farthings and half pence in the early 1700&#039;s, some 1749&#039;s and 1760&#039;s.&nbsp; Then in response to a &quot;great outcry&quot; they finally did a moderate coinage from 1770 to 1775.&nbsp; That was the last regal copper coinage until Boultons contract coinage of the penny and two pence cartwheels in 1797.&nbsp; The problem was that during this period the industrial revolution was really getting underway.&nbsp; Many people were leaving the farm and moving to the cities to work for wages.&nbsp; This created a problem.&nbsp; How to pay them.&nbsp; The typical laborer might be earning from one to three shillings a week (12 to 36 pence).&nbsp; The smallest paper note was a pound note (240 pence) and there was no where near enough coinage in circulation to pay them.&nbsp; Add to this the problem that by the mid 1780&#039;s over 90% of the coins that were in circulation were counterfeit.&nbsp; Often an employer would have to group several workers together and give them a pound note as the pay for all of them.&nbsp; Then it was their problem trying to find some way to get the note changed so they could each get paid.&nbsp; Typically the public houses (taverns) were the only places that might be able to make change, but not without them making a purchase.&nbsp; This often lead to the workers drinking up much of their pay before they got home.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>That is why the private or provincial coinage (Conder tokens) came about.&nbsp; If they couldn&#039;t get regal coinage, the merchants would have their own tokens made and use them for change and advertising.&nbsp; It was also profitable since it cost less than the face value of the tokens to have them made so you made a profit in passing them and even more profit if they did not come back for redemption.&nbsp; Eventually people realized that they could make and pass anonymous pieces and not have to worry about redeeming them since they didn&#039;t identify where they came from.&nbsp; The tokens were well liked since most of the trade token pieces were of full weight, well designed, and better struck than anything that had ever come out of the tower mint.&nbsp; In fact they were so well liked that prices were HIGHER if you wanted to pay with regal coinage.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally Matthew Boulton got the regal contact to strike pennies and two pence coins in 1797.&nbsp; (This was the first British penny coin struck since the late 1600&#039;s and the first copper penny.)&nbsp; The coins at first were will liked, but eventually became a nuisance because of their weight, and because what were really needed in circulation were farthings and half pence.&nbsp; Also by 1799 the price of copper had risen to the point where the coins were undervalued and they disappeared from circulation.&nbsp; Boulton then struck farthings, half pence, and pennies at a lower weight standard.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you really want to understand what was going on at the time the book mentioned by Catbert is EXCELLENT and very enjoyable reading.&nbsp; Although it was written by an economist the writing style is NOT dry and it really pulls you in.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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