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Auction: 25360 - The 360th Anniversary Sale
Lot: 6

17TH CENTURY TRADE TOKEN OF JOHN SPINK

John Spink, Copper Farthing Trade Token, 1657, London, St Nicholas Lane, IOHN . SPINKE . 1657, a wheatsheaf, rev. IN . NICHOLAS . LANE, in the centre, the letters I . E . S ., edge plain, 0.79g, 2h (Boyne & Williamson 2699; cf. London Museum, 11153).
Some porosity and verdigris present, a softness to the details but otherwise clear, a charming piece of very early Spink history.

Small denomination coins were in critically short supply at this time. Shopkeepers and businesses produced their own tokens. In the 1660s there were 3,543 "tokeners" in London. Made of lead, tin, copper, or leather and generally issued for a halfpenny or farthing and redeemable against the issuer. Usually round they were also heart shaped or hexagonal. Disaster struck during the Great Fire in 1666 as most were destroyed.

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Estimate
£50 to £150

Starting price
£16