A Manx Mystery - Help Needed On My Current Research Project!

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 900
daltonista Pillar of the Community United States 1057 Posts	Posted 09/22/2024 5:54 pm Shown above is my silver shilling token from the Isle of Man, issued by the Douglas Bank in 1811 to serve as "necessity coinage" during the last decade of King George III's reign, when the Crown failed or neglected to provide the citizenry with enough "small change" to sustain everyday commerce. Pennies and halfpennies were issued locally as well, not only by the Douglas Bank, but also by a handful of other banks and merchants in Douglas and Castletown. Circulating at the same time was this rare and unusual Isle of Man artifact that I was able to add my collection earlier this year. It's been curated and published by the Manx Museum and National Trust as a "Shilling — copper test piece; Rev. S. Ash and incuse A." Both tokens are 22mm in diameter, which is within a millimeter of the contemporary farthings, whether Regal issues or tokens. The copper pieces are known with and without the "A" countermark. The problem: No one can identify "S. Ash." I've been collecting the Regency Period tokens for over 35 years now and have yet to find anything in "the literature" that makes any attribution possible. Aside from auction listings, I've seen no mention of this piece in print or online since 1999, when Paul Withers repeated Major Fred Pridmore's speculation that it may have circulated as a farthing because of its size and copper content. Please leave a comment if you have any more recent information on the identity of the elusive S. Ash. (Journal articles, anyone?) Also, should you happen to have a copy of Mike Southall's out-of-print book, Coins of the Isle of Man, please share any coverage he may have given to this token. I haven't been able to find a copy here in the States...maybe one of our UK forum members has it on the shelf? (I recently bought a used McCammon on ebay: not a word.) Many thanks in advance to all my fellow exonumismaniacs! Tom "If everything seems to be under control, you're just not going fast enough." --- Mario Andretti Report this Post to the Staff

Coinfrog Bedrock of the Community United States 94367 Posts	Posted 09/22/2024 7:37 pm I know little about this, but most interesting. Report this Post to the Staff
PaddyB Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 945 Posts	Posted 09/23/2024 03:32 am The only book specifically covering Manx tokens that I have is the Pobjoy one from 1978 by James A Mackay. It lists both the coins you have above, but sadly gives no further info on "S ASH". The values it suggests for 1978 seem extremely high! Report this Post to the Staff
NumisRob Bedrock of the Community United Kingdom 17878 Posts	Posted 09/23/2024 03:33 am Is it listed in this book? https://www.abccoinsandtokens.com/B...OM.0002.html My Trade List: https://goccf.com/t/194596 My Wants List: https://goccf.com/t/191710 Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 187446 Posts	Posted 09/23/2024 09:20 am Very interesting! 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
daltonista Pillar of the Community United States 1057 Posts	Posted 09/23/2024 09:45 am Thank you all for your comments...I'll probably have to scour the property deeds and parish records of every little town on the Isle of Man before I can make any further progress on this research topic. Hadn't seen the Pobjoy book, Paddy & Rob -- thanks for the input on that. I did find it for sale a while back but decided against buying it because I figured if Pobjoy was publishing it the coverage would be limited to their modern NCLT issues... Quote: PaddyB wrote: The values it suggests for 1978 seem extremely high! Paddy, you should see the 2024 values! Also, check out my signature below... "If everything seems to be under control, you're just not going fast enough." --- Mario Andretti Report this Post to the Staff
PaddyB Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 945 Posts	Posted 09/23/2024 10:42 am I baulk at paying that sort of money for a Saxon silver penny, let alone a 19th century token! I hope you stuck to your motto and got them cheap. Report this Post to the Staff
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