As Conders Go, The Kentucky Token Is An Unusual One

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daltonista Pillar of the Community United States 1057 Posts	Posted 10/31/2025 8:03 pm The so-called "Kentucky Token," putatively issued in 1792, has appeared in the front section of the Red Book of US coins forever. Interestingly, it was actually a British Conder token attributed by Dalton & Hamer -- probably mistakenly -- to Lancashire. I'll excerpt from the first paragraph here, but please note that our own CCF has conveniently linked to the Notre Dame numismatic collection's extensive two-part description of this piece. Using the menu at the left of any CCF page, under " US coins & Currency" go to "US Colonial Coins" and then scroll down to the "Tokens" section. Below that heading you'll find the two entries for "Kentucky (Starry Pyramid) Token, 1792." Louis Jordan, the collector's curator, begins: "This undated token is thought to commemorate the admission of Kentucky to the nation...as the fifteenth state in 1792 but before 1796 when Tennessee was admitted. The names [sic] for this coin comes from the design on the reverse consisting of a pyramid made from 15 stars... Each star has a letter representing one of the thirteen original states as well as one for Vermont (which entered the union 1791) while at the top of the pyramid is a star with a K for Kentucky." My well-worn specimen is D&H 59c, the plain-edge variant. If it were a bit less well-worn, the legend on the scroll would be legible for all to see: "Our cause is just." My only question: What faction of the British body politic at the time would have been celebrating the entry of another state into this upstart former North American colony? "If everything seems to be under control, you're just not going fast enough." --- Mario Andretti Edited by daltonista 11/01/2025 08:45 am Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16805 Posts	Posted 11/01/2025 06:56 am I believe the tokens are classed as "Lancaster" because the most common inscribed edge variant for this token is "PAYABLE IN LANCASTER LONDON OR BRISTOL". I would suspect that such tokens were produced by the British token-makers, with the intent of exporting them to the US. This was still prior to the Coinage Act of 1792, so the US has as yet no official coinage nor national mint, and the various states were still making do with whatever coins or tokens they could scrounge up, and their was profit to be made by foreign private mints selling cheap underweight tokens to desperate Americans. It may be worth pointing out that "Unanimity is the strength of society" was a motto of the Antient and Noble Order of Bucks, a Freemason-style fraternity based in Birmingham (a token manufacturing centre) in the 1700s and 1800s. So I suspect a member of that Lodge may have been involved in the design of the tokens. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 187446 Posts	Posted 11/03/2025 08:44 am Very nice! Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
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