It's neat holding a 216 year old Conder Token and knowing your only it's third owner.

Broadstruck

Although I'm no longer actively collecting Conder Tokens I did make a slight detour and purchased a scarcer popular design I've always admired.

This token was in the personal collection of James Watt, Jr. partner with Matthew Boulton at the Soho Mint from the late 1700's thru the early 1800's.
This token had resided in the family estate for over 200 years before being sold in a Nov. 2002 Morton and Eden Auction in London.

1795 Great Britain, Middlesex, halfpenny, D&H-27.



Obverse: Standing woman, Mrs. NEWSHAM THE WHITE NEGRESS.
Reverse: TO BE HAD AT THE CURIOSITY HOUSE CITY ROAD around, NEAR / FINSBURY SQUARE / LONDON / 1795 on four lines at center.

Here's a bit of history -

JamesMurray

It's certainly one of the more interesting tokens , is the reverse poorly struck or is it wear do you think ? The lettering isnt overly clear in the photo.
Something like that could be very sought after in certain countries , a fabulous snag Broadstruck

Broadstruck

<< <i>It's certainly one of the more interesting tokens , is the reverse poorly struck or is it wear do you think ? The lettering isnt overly clear in the photo.
Something like that could be very sought after in certain countries , a fabulous snag Broadstruck >>



Thanks JamesMurray!

The left arm (right arm facing) is always weekly struck along with the reverse center. I'm not doing the token justice and will have to reshoot it when there's less foot traffic in my home. Although I've seen some examples that are a bit more well pronounced on the reverse central wording... I've never seen another with more then just 10% trace red.
This example has more then 60% full mint red and has wondrous blue patina and very lustrous mark free cartwheel fields when rotated in hand. It's also the finest known by 2 points being the only NGC MS66RB.

JamesMurray

Your more than welcome Sir , it's definately got me wanting something similar. Coincidently i was reading the BBC news last night and there was an article about William the Wild boy , he was a german youth with an unknown at the time medical condition and was abandoned in the woods somewhere in Germany.
King George , i'm not 100% sure which one , had him brought to court at his palace in London where William the Wild boy was pretty much the entertainment , this was before television dear readers in case you find that somewhat disturbing : )

When the King died his sister took him to live out his days on an english estate with a pension of 33 pounds per annum. The reason it was in the news was some egghead reckons she can say what was wrong with him judging just from one oil painting that depicts him. A bit of a waste of time and research but there ya go.

rwyarmch

Cool token and story!

Broadstruck-I was intrigued by your reference to finest known (graded?) because I haven't been able to
obtain any population data from NGC on Conder tokens. Got the inside track?

yellowkid

And cartwheel luster too!!! A great pickup. I don't remember seeing that one.
IMHO, Conders are the best value pieces you can find, with a myriad of great designs. Animals of all sorts, anti-slavery themes, anti and pro monarchy themes, Indians, liberty caps, hangings, guillotines, ships, it goes on and on. Although you can spend several grand for some pieces, most are under $500 for top shelf quality.

farthing

Broadstruck - very nice example of the token!

I agree with you on the strike, this is about as good as they come, the token is normally weakly struck.

However I will point out that the token is not D&H #27 - 27 has a different reverse. If this is a penny sized token it would be #28, if it is halfpenny sized (which it appears to be from the size of the text) it would be #317. Both 28 and 317 come in 2 edge varieties. If the edge is lettered it is 28, if the edge is plain the token could be either 28a or 317, otherwise, if the edge is milled it is #317a.

Broadstruck

<< <i>Broadstruck - very nice example of the token!

I agree with you on the strike, this is about as good as they come, the token is normally weakly struck.

However I will point out that the token is not D&H #27 - 27 has a different reverse. If this is a penny sized token it would be #28, if it is halfpenny sized (which it appears to be from the size of the text) it would be #317. Both 28 and 317 come in 2 edge varieties. If the edge is lettered it is 28, if the edge is plain the token could be either 28a or 317, otherwise, if the edge is milled it is #317a. >>



Farthing, Thanks as you are correct as I made the mistake of reading the designation on the NGC slab label as I wrote the OP. I'll have it corrected once I reach a box of 20 of wrongly designated NGC exonumia which I'm quickly approaching. It's penny sized and a D&H 28 variety, although I'd venture to guess it's the more common 28a I am unable to see the edge in this non pronged holder.

farthing

I have a few of the NGC wrong-labeled slabs also.