Australian Tokens - Are The Sizes Correct ?

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 2,004
Pertinax Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2135 Posts	Posted 09/18/2012 8:32 pm I bought 3 Australian tokens at auction - very pretty, and I didn't have any before. No1 is thicker than a normal British pre-decimal penny and a bit wider too about 34mm weight 15.67g. No 2 is penny size, 10.37g: Token 3 is wider than a normal British pre-decimal half-penny, about 28mm weight 7.96g. Are these sizes correct ? Are the KM valuations reasonable ? Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16912 Posts	Posted 09/18/2012 9:04 pm Tradesman token weights can vary quite a bit within the series. Don't forget, actual British pennies went through a weight change at about the same time as these tokens were being made. Further, the heavier a person's tokens were, the "better" they were in people's eyes, since the merchant that made them wasn't obviously trying to rip them off by making cheap tokens that were significantly underweight. As for prices, they've just put out a new Renniks token catalogue; I'll compare the prices in it with Krause and let you know. 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
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21789 Posts	Posted 09/19/2012 03:39 am Australian tradesman's tokens were circulated at a time when British copper / bronze coins were scarce in Australia. After 1855, Australian commerce was served with Australian minted sovereigns and half sovereigns, imported British silver, and scarcely imported British copper / bronze coins. The gap was filled with Australian tokens, which are now an essential part of Australian numismatic history. Report this Post to the Staff
Pertinax Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2135 Posts	Posted 09/19/2012 04:51 am Due to the shortage of small change, French, Italian and Spanish farthing, halfpenny, and penny sized coins circulated freely in Victorian times in Britain. Did they circulate in Australia, too ? Enterprising people imported these coins and circulated them; many stamping them with adverts; of which Pear's Soap is famous. This one's on a French 10 centimes of the 1850s/60s - you can see the outline of Napoleon III's head. Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16912 Posts	Posted 09/19/2012 09:28 am Yes, we saw those here, too. I said I'd look up values, and forgot until now. #1: This is one of the Australian arms/In Vino Veritas types made by T. Stokes as generic or stock tokens. This particular variety is Renniks #541, Andrews #546 and Krause KM# Tn236.1; my old Krause does not distinguish between the varieties, only noting that "eight varieties exist". Renniks (which lists 7 varieties) lists it at AU$150 in VF, Krause currently at US$175. #2: There are five reported varieties of this type in Renniks, the same five are listed in Krause. Two of them are dated type (34mm), the others are 31mm. Yours is the type listed as Renniks #213, Krause KM# Tn99.2. Prices AU$275 and US$350. I should point out that this is one place where Krause and Renniks disagree: the diameter of these two dated types. Krause has them at 34mm while Renniks at 31mm, the same as the undated types. It sounds like Krause is in the wrong in this case. #3: a stock/advertising halfpenny token from WJ Taylor. Only one variety is listed: Renniks 538, Andrews 573 and KM Tn244. One of the commonest Aussie tradesman tokens. Prices AU$50 and US$100 in VF. In general, the Krause prices appear to be on the high side, especially given that there's far more demand for this series in Australia than overseas. 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
Pertinax Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2135 Posts	Posted 09/19/2012 5:26 pm Sap, Thanks very much. I suspected that the Krause prices might be on the high side however I suppose that they take their prices mostly from Australian dealers' lists, and the move in exchange rates of the AUD against the USD must play a part. I'll look out for more; I just wish Krause would list tokens for more countries. Report this Post to the Staff
keldaw2222 Valued Member Australia 428 Posts	Posted 09/20/2012 02:47 am yipee, I found my old book in the shed after all these years of being lost ..it has lots of tokens in it also .. i thought it went out with the rubbish when we moved house .. silly me .. ,, kel ,, Edited by keldaw2222 09/20/2012 02:49 am Report this Post to the Staff
keldaw2222 Valued Member Australia 428 Posts	Posted 09/20/2012 03:04 am tokens here , pictures not very clear , sorry .. kel . looking at old prices , what a difference .. ,, kel ,, Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 7 / Views: 2,004

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