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 Replies: 8 / Views: 3,057 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2669 Posts |
Are there identifiers for these? I think they're neat, although this one appears to be one drop away from being in pieces  Feel free to post your own. I have not seen many here on the forum. 1835 Kirknewton & East Calder Revd. ALS (Reverend Alexander Lockhart Simpson, D.D. Minister) Midlothian or West Lothian, Scotland Presbytery of Edinburgh, Synod of Lothian & Tweeddale  There is a nice write-up here: http://www.akvhs.org/communion_toke...united_p.htmFrom that page: HISTORY
John Calvin first recommended Communion tokens with the intent that no unworthy person would be admitted to the communion service. They were first use in the Reformed Church of France in the year 1560. The Dutch used tokens in Amsterdam as early as 1586. England and Ireland began to use communion tokens near the end of the 16th century when authorities found it useful to know who did or did not conform to the legal for of worship of the state church.
But it was in the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland that communion tokens were most widely used. Many believe that there may have been a second reason for using tokens, and that was to protect communicants from betrayal by spies during periods of religious persecution. Communion tokens were used in the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland until World War I. A number of other churches have issued tokens in recent years, but these are normally replicas to commemorate a centennial or some other anniversary.
Communion tokens have been used in Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Italy, Africa, India, South America, the West Indies, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Churches in at least 24 states in the United States issued communion tokens, with over 400 recorded varieties in Pennsylvania. Tokens were used by churches in Freeport, Deer Creek, Glade Run, and Parnassus, plus six different churches in Pittsburgh and three in Allegheny City. But it was in Scotland where the tokens had their deepest roots with over 7000 different types being recorded.For more information, Communion Tokens of the Established Church of Scotland: Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth Centuries is on archive.org. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3253 Posts |
Was learning about these recently. I think they're very cool, if you don't mind the fact that they are, quite literally, badges of religious intolerance!
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2490 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
4227 Posts |
A good friend of mine collected Nova Scotia communion tokens (there's a lot!) and I was always tempted to get into them, but never did. They are definitely interesting.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
2669 Posts |
Great link, alganbagerap, thank you  Quote:
badges of religious intolerance Indeed.. there are quite a few things in history that are terrible - all we can do is remember so we don't repeat. Coins (and tokens) help that because so much of our history, both good and bad, is laid out right on them. Chequer, yes, there a *lot* of these. I'm surprised I only have one, with how many were made. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Interesting history behind these tokens! And I'm curious about the metal used on this one--any ideas?
I was wondering if it was tin? Tin has two allotropes, or crystal configurations, of the element.
When subjected to temperatures below 56 °F, white tin undergoes a transformation to "grey tin", which is dark, non-metallic, and brittle.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2669 Posts |
Many of these were lead, but I have no idea about this one. The brittleness definitely fits, and it's very light, so you could be right.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
That sounds right--grey tin is ~ 3/4 the density of white tin. The density changes by re-crystallization, which in the case of coins often distorts or even cracks the piece along stress in the metal. Anyway, some trivia.  Edited by DVCollector
02/02/2014 1:25 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1757 Posts |
Since with certain issues money was/is no object with me if under $1,000 per item so to speak - for ~ 10 years I bought every U.S. Communion Token that was available in the open market most from the late Steve Tanenbaum - of course - I wound up with (17). Don't forget to stick with those Scottish lead one's <BG>. The Florida Collection is the largest known in the U.S.. No idea how many? ... the most common one that 1799 one ... R6-.
john Lorenzo
United States
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Replies: 8 / Views: 3,057 |
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Posted 02/01/2014 2:04 pm
