New Conder Token: Anglesey D&H 267

cosmicdebris · August 5, 2004 1:17AM

This beauty arrived today.

Anglesey Half Penny, Rare Undated Pattern from 1787. Edge reads: EDW.HUGHES.THO.WILLIAMS.IOHN.DAWES.PARIS.LODGE+

The tokens of the Parys Mines Company may well be considered the "premier tokens" of the 18th century - the 1st chronologically; a long way the first by the quanity issued. Charles Pye states that at least 250 tons of pennies, and about 50 tons of half pence.

Zulan · August 5, 2004 1:51AM

That is a cool token!!!

I have always wanted to ask, what coin are you using for an icon. It is awesome!

cosmicdebris · August 5, 2004 1:57AM

Icon is this a Kienast Opus 78 / Schaaf 18 31 25 Pfennig Pattern Struck in Copper 23mm in diameter by Karl Goetz

theboz11 · August 5, 2004 2:00AM

wonderful color

Steve27 · August 5, 2004 2:54AM

Nice Bill, so how many conders do you have now?

cosmicdebris · August 5, 2004 3:02AM

That's #2. I just ordered #3 last night.

cosmicdebris · August 5, 2004 3:35AM

More on this token:

In the beginning of this eighteenth-century phase of tokens, the first pieces to appear were pennies, products of the Parys Mine Company, owner of immensely rich copper workings near the town of Amlwch, on the island of Anglesey. By the later 1780's, the mining operation (an open pit affair, conducted by blasting away the ore-rich face of Parys Mountain with gunpowder) was employing well over a thousand men locally, and many more at its rolling operations at Holywell, Flintshire. Early in 1787, the owners of the concern, headed by Thomas Williams of Llanidan, the legendary "Copper King" of industrial folklore, decided to set up their own mint, striking some of their copper into penny pieces for their employees' use.

What happened next is not entirely clear and probably never will be. But there seem to have been two mints, one at Holywell, the other in Birmingham, on the site of the present Great Charles Street. It is conjectured that the penny issues of 1787 were struck in Holywell, those of 1788 in Birmingham; this guesswork is based upon the few clues remaining in Birmingham. But we do not known the precise time of the transfer of operations from one mint to another, nor do we know the precise reasons for the switch. We do know the artist responsible for the issue: he was John Gregory Hanc&#111ck, Sr., a talented inventor and die-sinker of the day. Hanc&#111ck would be responsible for a great many of the tokens of this first phase of the eighteenth-century series.

Halfpennies joined the pennies in 1788; they were struck in quantity that year, and in somewhat smaller numbers in 1789. In the latter year, the company appears to have sold its equipment to another, much better known coiner, Matthew Boulton. Later issues were struck for the company by Boulton and several others, in 1790 and 1791. The series was also extensively counterfeited.

Genuine Parys Mine tokens are immediately distinguishable, however. They are lovely, massive pieces, containing close to their intrinsic value in copper. Hanc&#111ck's sensitive portrait of a Druid adorned the obverse, set within a wreath of oak leaves. The reverse used a cypher representing the company's name as a central type; pennies included a promise of payment as a reverse legend, while the halfpennies indicated that they were products of the Anglesey mines. A carefully lettered edge gave the names of places where the tokens might be redeemed. Many of the pennies were struck in a restraining collar, after their edges had been marked.

All in all, over three hundred tons of these tokens were issued, making them the single most common type of eighteenth-century token. They proved extremely popular with mineworkers, but they soon moved into the larger monetary arena as well, praised for their beauty and high intrinsic value. Always a man with an eye for self-promotion, Thomas Williams undoubtedly took pains over their production with that goal in mind.