Help Needed In Identifying A 1692 Stag Head Token

@landy, first welcome to CCF. Second, at least according to simmons gallery, this seems to be a coal miner's tag. With that said, most of the other examples of this seem to have counterstamped numbers and a more cleanly punched hole. I recommend reaching out to Simmons as this specific piece was in their possession at one point. If nothing else, it helps to establish some provenance for you.

I decided to do a bit more research based on the assumption that a number of Scottish clans use the 'stag head erased' as an emblem and that the numbers (1692, or possibly 1092 given the "6" is indistinct) represent a year. Two options with a Scottish/date link were found. The option I believe offers the best fit is that the token was issued to commemorate the Glencoe Massacre which took place on 13 February 1692. The other (in my view less likely) option is that the token commemorates the William II led invasion of Strathclyde which took place in 1092.

Very interesting. Thank you for the follow-up posts.

Landyman, you have a fascinating piece and the mystery is absorbing! Please keep us updated on your quest.

Bushel or colliery token or barrel stave marker, perhaps

There was a Stags Head Colliery in Durham, and another in Flintshire; and the famous Stags Fall Quarries in the Dales, Yorks.

And, of course, a great many Stags Head restaurants, pubs, guesthouses, and inns (with or without the greengrocer's apostrophe!)

Thank you to all for your comments and suggestions and apologies for this long post. I will add further images in a separate post.

january1may - I initially thought the 'wave' was a coiled rope often seen beneath family crests but on further examination it is only evident to the lower right of the stag head and appears to be a later dent from a heavy strike (perhaps a hammer miss-hit when punching the hole.)

paralyse - I originally purchased the token as a colliery ticket (my area of interest) so that is still a possibility. After my earlier research drew a blank I moved away from that as a probability so thank you for pulling me back out of the rabbit hole I had fallen into!
The barrel stave marker is an interesting idea to add to clues but the two-sided design and reeded edge would suggest something other than a marker.

daltonista - thank you for your support - I am still enjoying the chase! I also have an example of the manorial token you are referring to (I*H together with bear arms and crescent) but at least there are several known examples of that token. I have another mystery token for another discussion (same as D&W 298/175 numbered 23) - again, several examples are known. The references you suggested are very useful - using 'stag head erased' narrows the search to a more manageable number many of which can be discounted due to being a more recent grant. If it does represent a family crest, then the best of the rest from that source suggests either the clan Fraser of Lovat (but that stag head erased normally rests on a coiled rope) or one of the Clare families of Ireland.

Further observations after detailed examination in various light conditions and scans in colour, B&W and negative:
I find the style of the "1" in the date intriguing given the simple and somewhat crude forms of the 6, 9 and 2. The "1" is more gothic in appearance.
The die axis (obv/rev rotation) is 180 deg and the later damage to the obverse has largely obliterated the upper design of the reverse but there appears to be something between the upper pair of acorns that, with a lot of imagination, could be a cross/star meaning the lower decoration (two acorns with a cross between) may be repeated above the date.
I note that in reflected light (image in my next post) the acorn above the "2" could be interpreted as a four or five petalled flower but that may just be an imprint of whatever the token was sat on when damaged.
Finally, I recently found the collector's ticket that came with the token - I thought it had been lost but was only misplaced. The token is from the collection of Emyr George and purchased via a Simmons Gallery auction in 2021. It was listed as "Mining?" (hence my interest). The old ticket clearly shows that Emyr thought it was an early mining token and reads "Early Mining Ticket" "Unpublished (?)" and "CF D&W p295 NL No 145 (1750)". The back of the ticket has a note "cf A H Baldwin File seen 5 4 88" (or possibly "5 + 88"). I'm not sure the D&W reference will help as 'Tickets and Passes of Great Britain and Ireland' is not illustrated. However, I have recently purchased a copy (still waiting for it to arrive.) I'm not sure about the Baldwin reference - does it refer to the previous owner's file of Baldwin auction sales or perhaps a reference to Baldwin correspondence files?

Thanks paralyse and daltonista for your ongoing interest and help.

The reference to the unicorn token in D&W with its further note to "Walker, I & T. See Broughton" (Colliery?) is strange. The colliery was only leased to John and Thomas Walker for 14 years from 1823 (ref. Finlay, The Mining and related tokens of West Cumberland). I have examples of a Walker I & T token dated 1834 (Finlay 80) and that token has no similarity with the stag head or unicorn head tokens.

However, Broughton Colliery did issue (issuer John Lamplugh) trade tokens circa 1665-1670 in response to a shortage of coinage at that time. Apparently locally-issued token coinage of halfpenny and farthing denominations, although strictly illegal, became commonplace with "many thousands of issuers" (not helpful!) and tolerated by the authorities. A royal proclamation of 1672 forbade the further use of such tokens which adds a further question about the numbers (date?) on my token - 1692.

I will be travelling to the UK later this year and will make contact with Baldwins to see where that leads. I will post any findings on here.