Hispaniola Token - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 4 / Views: 1,343
Shewteam New Member United Kingdom 3 Posts	Posted 08/06/2013 08:15 am I have a worn coin/token "George rules" bust facing left, "Hispaniola" and harp, 27mm (17/16th")diameter, copper alloy. Found near Oxford England. Can anyone date this and suggest how it got into a field? Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16842 Posts	Posted 08/06/2013 08:56 am It isn't really from Hispaniola. It is a class of token known as an "evasion". It dates from the late 1700s or early 1800s. It was deliberately designed to resemble at first glance an official government-issued coin - in this case, an Irish halfpenny - but with distinctly different legends - in this case, "George Rules" instead of "George III Rex" and "Hispaniola" instead of "Hibernia". Making counterfeit coins was of course illegal, but making tokens and medals was not, at the time. In theory, if the evasion-maker was caught and charged with counterfeiting, his defence would be that he was just making medals, and it wasn't his fault that ignorant, illiterate people were getting confused and using them for money. This argument didn't usually work; many evasion-makers were executed or transported to Australia. 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
fioti Pillar of the Community United States 4212 Posts	Posted 08/06/2013 09:08 am Executed? It'd never happen, but would put a dent in the Chinese-laden market pretty quick. Report this Post to the Staff
Shewteam New Member United Kingdom 3 Posts	Posted 08/06/2013 09:51 am Thank you SAP, I am happy to know more about my fake. I have a 1740 halfpenny from 50 yards away. Report this Post to the Staff
philadelphian Pillar of the Community United States 3253 Posts	Posted 08/06/2013 10:01 am Welcome! Here's a good write-up on the evasion-copper topic: http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/Col...t.intro.html The one you've found seems particularly interesting, though. The GEORGE RULES legend on the front was paired with a number of reverse legends, particularly BRITAINS ISLES (to complete a little sentence). The Irish halfpenny reverse with HISPANIOLA instead of HIBERNIA appears to be much less common, and I have yet to find a reference to it being paired with the GEORGE RULES obverse. One rare HISPANIOLA harp reverse is usually found with the legend AUCTORI PLEBIS on the other side; that one will have the divided date 17 36 to either side of the bottom tip of the harp. Any chance you could post a picture for us? Report this Post to the Staff
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