As I understand it, there was a shortage of copper in Great Britain and the public urged the King to mint copper coins, and they thought they were not needed, so the public took upon themselvesd to make them. But...were the tokens something you could purchase, were they given as change, or were they just a "thank you" for buying something?
Both. The way I understand it, they were used for their intended purpose, and were avidly collected across Britain, many issues were struck on commission made especially for collectors. That's one of the reasons why you can get such spectacular examples of certain types.
The way I heard it , there was a shortage of coins , and also from a lot of circulating counterfeits . The industrial revolution along with the increase of population also increased demand for sound coinage which the gov. failed to give . So business men took matters into their own hands making copper coin to weight of the penny and halfpenny coins .
Tim, you have Google, right? I spent about a month writing the Wikipedia article on Conder tokens last summer (2013). Read it here. It should answer most of your questions. If you want more detail, then pick up some of the books referenced in the Wikipedia article. The George Selgin book is particularly interesting, and tells all of the back story of why the tokens came about, their general use, and why they went away. (Selgin, George. Good Money: Birmingham Button Makers, the Royal Mint, and the Beginnings of Modern Coinage, 1775-1821.)
My favourite tokens from that era are the Birmingham Workhouse tokens, they were of near full metal value - so the threepence had 2.5 ounces of copper in it. There were some sixpence struck, but they were not approved for circulation and the extent examples are more patterns than anything. The threepence are practically a hockey puck by themselves.
I believe those were struck in 1811-1814, right? If I am recalling correctly, then strictly speaking, those aren't of the "Conder" era. But, I agree with you -- they are super cool tokens. I believe the Workhouse tokens are indexed in the Withers book, British Copper Tokens, 1811-1820; a surprisingly difficult book to find in the USA. I cherish my copy, as both Paul and Bente autographed the inside cover for me!
I admit, I really want to find one of the 6d tokens. They are pricier, but still very collectable. I see them come up occasionally on Spink and Baldwins.
