Token (coin)
A token is a dividing coin in Great Britain or the USA, which was not minted by the state mint, but by private merchants and companies, as the British government for a long time and the US government between 1833 and 1843 due to the relatively high production costs Issued small coins and there was a chronic shortage of these in trade. In the 17th century (in England from 1648) tokens were made of copper and brass, in the 18th century they were only made of copper and had a low nominal value , as shown on the reverse , e.g. B. one halfpenny.
The largest amount of tokens was minted during the coalition wars against revolutionary France, they were banned in England in 1818, and only in the British colonies in 1873. The pieces minted in the USA are known as hard times tokens.
Mark token
Tokens have a special meaning as identification coins in the English and Scottish Freemasonry. Numerous Mark tokens contain memorabilia, for example in honor of Robert Burns.
literature
- Heinz Fengler, Gerhard Gierow, Willy Unger: Lexicon of Numismatics . transpress publishing house for transport, Berlin 1976, ISBN 3-524-00598-5 .
- Helmut Kahnt, Bernd Knorr: Old measures, coins and weights. A lexicon. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1986, licensed edition Mannheim / Vienna / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-411-02148-9 , p. 397.
Web links
- Extensive token collection