Let's see your Conder Tokens

My Conder Token from the DBW auction

I scored this Conder Token, Middlesex 1036, in DNW's recent auction.

I see nothing preventing it from being graded FDC or so, but I don't send my tokens for grading,
though I've bought some slabbed examples over the years.

I am rather amazed at its quality. I imagine it has been a collector piece from 1795 until now.
Most recently, it resided in the Collection of Dr. Allen Bennett.

 

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Spectacular token, Larry.

 

That's a beautiful token Larry. Congrats on your great pickup.

Bruce

 

For the last three years DNW's Conder token sale in October has been mainly the Robbie Brown collection. Next year will be the fourth and last part, Anglsey & Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and his duplicates.

This is what I picked up in the DNW sale this year.

Lot 132 This was a sleeper in my opinion, and it is misattributed. They called it a mule of the obv of Midd 913 and the rev of 915. The reverse is actually 916, and the obv is NOT 913. In fact it isn't anything. It is an unlisted die. So we have a new unlisted die on a silver token! I don't know how they confused this obverse with 913. I suspect this may have been the original obv prepared for William Williams and it was rejected. Note the spelling of Cesar instead of Caesar. On both 913 and 914 it is spelled correctly. Could this have been a pocket piece that Williams had struck from the rejected die?




Lot 653 An unlisted Warwickshire Wilkinson piece that fits into the run of Genuine Trade Tokens (GTT) that I collect. New obv/rev of War 349. (I don't think it is the rev of 349. The 349 rev has a diagonal crack from the top of the anvil down to the base of the hammer support. This coin doesn't have that crack and I think the smoke in the furnace is different. It seems to be Rev of War 340.) This is also the first piece I have been able to buy out of one of the Robbie Brown sales. (I've managed to pick up a couple on the aftermarket after the sales, but this is the first one I have been able to buy directly.)




Lot 852 Not really a piece I needed, but I have a complete set of the GTT Lady Godiva tokens from Coventry. Now I have a Peeping Tom piece to go with them. This is not an easy piece to acquire. They only made 48 of these. (Tom is in the upstairs leftmost window of the middle building.)

 

Wow those are great!!

 

Another DNW auction purchase, Barker halfpenny, Warwickshire 64a.

 

Nice tokens Yarm! I really like the color and detail on that Warks 64a.


Here's two more new pickups that arrived today.

Middlesex - Map of France variety DH 1016d



Middlesex DH 755 - One of Spence's obedient dogs.

 

New tokens from the latest Davisson mail bid auction:

Middlesex Spence DH 707


Middlesex Spence DH 708


Middlesex Spence DH713


Middlesex Spence DH 776


Glad to add several of the lesser used Spence dies, now have tokens with 15 of the Spence halfpenny designs and 6 of the farthing designs. Not necessarily trying to collect an example of each design (see Liberty Cat for the reason why) but if I am going to get a Spence token I prefer to add a new design to my collection instead of a different marriage of designs I already have.

 

Is there a link to the website that those were on?
They are stunning!

 

Allan Davisson's website is http://www.britishcoins.com/

Allan runs mail bid auctions several times a year, primarily ancient, British coinage, and British tokens. He also often has a small selection of choice world coins and British medals.

 

I love your tokens farthing. While checking out your Spence pieces, I realized that Thomas Spence was the same man who issued many, many counterstamped coins with political slogans and ideas on them. He called his political views "Spence's Plan", and actually spent time in Newgate Prison (1798-1801) for his political activism. He had a series of prepared punches made, some with only a single word on them, and by using several different ones together could form phrases. For example, one known piece reads "No/ Landlords /You Fools /Spence's Plan/Forever". This one was made by stringing together five different counterstamps. Most of the issues attributed to him are struck on Halfpenny and Penny copper coins. They're fairly common, but would be an interesting addition to a collection of his Conder Tokens.

Bruce

 

New Arrival

I just received this Conder yesterday.

Warwickshire, Birmingham DH 1, an EF in brass.

 

Two more Birmingham 1 examples

Here are two more of the Warwickshire, Birmingham 1 group. Now I own four of perhaps 1,000 of these workhouse tokens.


Birm DH 1 (gilt) gVF.






Birm DH1a (silvered copper, with W counterstamp) EF.





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Nice tokens, Larry. I think the silvered example is my favorite. Any info on the "W" counterstamp?

 

Mike...

Bill told me that somewhere he has the man's name and believes he was the manager of the workhouse.

I am waiting for Bill to dome up with his name since that may be the easiest way to find it.
But I'll bet somewhere on the internet it could be found in historical records from Birmingham
and Warwickshire County. There are records much older than the ones we need, so I think they'd be findable.

I found this which was fun...

I searched on director of birmingham workhouse 1788

http://books.google.com/books?id=3z...director of birmingham workhouse 1788&f=false

So a guy named Josiah Robins, possibly the same man later called Robinson,
was in charge at first. One article appears to be from 1798, one from 1789 so it's confusing..
Tokens were dated 1788, so perhaps most were struck within a few years of 1788.
No help with identifying W-man yet.

 

More Birmingham Workhouse history

Here's more history of the Birmingham Workhouse.

NOTE: There are images of a token dated in 1811, but that would not be a Conder Token.
Conder Tokens were first struck in 1787 and mostly stopped by 1796,
though some were struck as late as 1802, though they were illegal by then for coinage purposes
since new regal coinage was struck in 1797 in one penny and two penny denominations at the Soho Mint.
Boulton and Watt produced that coinage using their steam power.


http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Birmingham/


I've ordered two more tokens, a bright gilt Birm 1 and a copper Birm 63.

 

Some beauties Larry , now where did I see those before .

 

I added a brightly gilt Birmingham DH 1.

Apparently the engraver was Roger Dixon, the manufacturer, John Gimblett.

 

W-man tentatively identified.

Here's the latest information on the W man for whom the DH1a tokens were countermarked.

Thomas Welch signed this 2/6 scrip from the workhouse, and may have been the force behind striking the tokens in metal.
There is a series of scrip in various denominations and designs, but I do not collect paper.
The scrip was printed after 1800, after the Conder tokens had been made illegal to pass.
None of this scrip was apparently ever issued, and perhaps only three sets were printed.
The most complete group is archived in the Birmingham Museum.


I now suspect Mr. James Welch, an overseer of the workhouse, is our W man.

Thanks for help to dealers Bill McKivor and Gary Groll. Gary provided the image.

 

Workhouse/poorhouse halfpenny • Warwickshire, Birmingham DH 63 • Gem PL

This 1796 Conder Token is Warwickshire, Birmingham DH 63.
The workhouse was also known as the poorhouse. (see DH 1 above).
The token is Gem and prooflike.

On the reverse is an interesting wavy circle, apparently involving a process using similor,
of which I know little, except that it is metallic and resembles gold.. I believe it was applied between successive strikes.

Pye stated that only six pounds were struck, and Bell put this issue on the cusp between genuine merchant token and medalet.
Some collectors avoid medalets and proofs, pieces struck for collectors, or anything not intended for use in trade.
But it does bear the halfpenny denomination.