Let's see your Conder Tokens

It's amazing how much better a token can look when the picture is taken by an accomplished photographer!

A new image of my Middlesex Bayly's DH 253 taken by yarm:



So much better than the picture I had from the seller:


Needless to say, I'm quite happy the the result! :yes:
The token is quite a bit better than the original photo showed. Yarm did a good job capturing the subdued red around the devices. :thumb:

 

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D & H 271 - Burchell's

Anodyne Necklace for Cutting Teeth



"This example is in white metal although the dealer identified it as tin.
Dalton & Hamer listed this variant as scarce."

How much is it worth?

 

"Scarce" means from 75-200 struck. I suspect there were many more pieces manufactured. I think of them as relatively Common.

It is not actually a 'token' intended for circulation, but seems more a medalet.

The medalets were suspended on a peony root necklace. I'm not surprised that the root did not survive until now.
I have never seen an example of the peony root necklace for these medalets.
A child would surely chew or mouth the token and not just the necklace. They may have been passed down in families.

I have seen quite a few examples that were not drilled. Unlike your example, many examples were pre-drilled
to suspend on a necklace.

It's also possible that numerous unholed copies were struck for collectors.
I would bet that they were copied, so perhaps some unholed examples are copies (or restrikes).

Value for the copper version is about $20 in F-VF or so, around $40 in EF.
I would say your example should grade Good Details, Damaged and Altered.
Starburst scratches and rim damage which show under magnification on yours detract from value.

You can find some additional information in these linked pages...


http://www.napoleonicmedals.org/coins/dh268.htm

http://www.napoleonicmedals.org/coins/brit95-20.htm

http://www.abccoinsandtokens.com/DH.Middlesex.0268.001.html




Per Medical History, 1990, 34: 268-293


THE ANODYNE NECKLACE: A QUACK REMEDY
AND ITS PROMOTION
by
FRANCIS DOHERTY

"... Any parent who could afford
the price of a necklace, five shillings even in 1709 (footnote 8), was the kind of parent who could provide
environmental conditions for the child better than the average for the time.."


(footnote) 8 That five shillings represented some two weeks' wages for a footman, 120 dishes of coffee in a coffee
house, or a gallon of claret, for example.

===================

My NOTES: Surely by the 1790's the cost of such a necklace would be higher.
One shilling = 12 pence. 20 shillings = 1 pound.

Generally speaking, Conder Tokens were produced between 1787-1797. The are a few later exceptions in D&H,
but I believe Bill told me none were struck after 1802. I have never really searched D&H to find the last date included.
But if you see dates like 1811 or 1841 they are not Conder Tokens.


.

 

The Basil Burchell tokens are not a big seller. There are quite a number of varieties so collectors will likely settle for just 1 or 2 varieties in their collection.

These are more like advertising medalets instead of tokens. Many are found holed as they were part of the Anodyne Necklace made for teething children that is advertised on the obverse. The tokens come in both WM and Copper so collectors may keep one of each.

This one is defaced quite a bit on the reverse which would limit its value. I probably would expect this to sell for no more than $20.

 

Thank you !

 

to Larry Moran.Thank you !

 

You are welcome Brainman...

As additional evidence of his quackery, the other side of your token advertises Burchell's medicine (sugar plums) for worms, which contained mercury. It is believed that a medalet was attached to a string or cord which secured the bag in which the sugar plums were sold. So there were two uses for the same medalets.

 

Warwickshire Coventry 38a

I've wondered how this piece wound up in D&H. Presumably the authors came across (or heard of) a version with the edge "Coventry Token" (Warwickshire 38).

So, who "signed" this medal/token and when was it produced?

 

yarm...

I have loved your example of this medal since I first saw it among your photos on PhotoBucket.

I believe it was designed and engraved by Thomas Wyon, perhaps the elder Thomas Wyon, who engraved many Conder Tokens.

Here's a link to more information about the son which also sheds a bit of light on his father.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wyon

 

yarm...

It now looks like engraver may have been William Wyon...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wyon

 

This token was found in Russia.In Moscow

 

Pawnbroker's token -Yorkshire 13

Do you have a Conder token with some visible undertype? Great, post it here! If you haven't been able to identify the undertype, perhaps a fellow collector can help you out!

Here's an example of a pawnbroker's halfpenny token (Yorkshire 13) overstruck on a North Wales 12 halfpenny. The link below describes the history of the three pawnbroker balls.

http://pawnshopsearch.com/origins-pawnbroker-balls/

 

The Pidcock's market has really dried up. I have seen nothing offered for months.

Here are a few new aquisitions (new meaning < 6 months old) that I may (or may not) have posted here...




I believe the 458 came from Bill McKivor while the 439 came from Australia.

 

I haven't seen many Pidcock's for sale either. None of the Brown II examples have turned up.

Here's one for which I paid a premium for the nice strike.

 

Basil Burchell Anodyne Necklace Medal, Middlesex DH 274 (Scarce)

I just received this medal today. Dalton & Hamer lists the variety as Scarce, especially in Fine condition. This is an UNC PL example, perhaps MS-62 or 63.
Since it has not been holed for attachment to a peony root necklace or to a bag of sugar plums, I am presuming some like this were struck and left unholed for collectors. My expert dealer is of the same opinion -- I asked him before I ordered it.

Edge reads: THIS IS NOT A COIN BUT A MEDAL + • + • + • + •







.

 

I have owned two of the Middlesex #274 - neither were holed. I suspect that these were not normally holed, and given the edge inscription, that #274 came at the end of the Conder token timeframe - after token coinage was made illegal.

 

Thanks, farthing...

I believe that perhaps none of the 274 variety were holed but were struck strictly for sale to collectors,
by Burchell the goldsmith and jeweler, but I would think also in coin dealer's shops in various locations.

Perhaps an important issue is that medals were never made illegal and its edge inscription states that it is a medal,
(not intended for circulation, or to be considered as money). I'm sure many knew the difference between tokens and medals, probably more than today.

You could be right about the date, it's hard to tell exactly because Basli Burchell sold his products from 1744 well into the 1800's.
Because of the edge, your supposition that it was struck in later years seems reasonable since its legal status needed to be clarified by the lettering.

But Bill and I think probably circa 1795 is a reasonable estimate. but possibly 1800 or a bit later is also possible.
By 1790 Burchell had also become a jeweler and goldsmith.
He was probably a coin collector, too. I wouldn't put it past him. LOL

I believe that for many collectors, tokens or medals for their businesses came long after their first contact as collectors.
Who else would have such appreciation for the medium?

The varieties that were holed were for tying on cords on bags of sugar plums or suspending on a peony root necklace.

Burchell was always battling counterfeiters of his products but he held the patent and apparently the best reputation.
Only two stores, his Anodyne store with a logo sign and one other sold his products in London.
The other store was at first Bowens, which later became Mrs. Randall's.

Since I don't know the exact date (perhaps you do) that Conder Tokens were declared null, I try to collect between 1787-1796,
staying in earlier dates than when the cartwheel pennies and tuppence were struck by Boulton as official regal coinage.

So this medal could be from a later date, but I don't mind so much because I know that similar pieces had to have circulated,
based on their intrinsic value and similarity to other Conder Tokens listed in D&H. And I like the story behind this issue.

.

 

As wordy as the Burchell token/medals are, Ayrshire 7 is almost completely "silent". No motto, no message, no date, no edge inscription (but John Milton did sign the reverse). The obverse may depict Adam Smith while the reverse has a neat progressive die crack through a forlorn seated someone or other.

 

Conder Token • David Garrick Halfpenny

Middlesex 478a.
Obverse: David Garrick, Actor.
Reverse: Masks of Comedy and Tragedy.
Edge: Plain, not struck in collar.






.

 

Another couple of pairs. George III and an ass, Pitt and Fox.