Posted 02/20/2023 4:49 pm
Hello and welcome. 
As John noted above, it's not a "coin", in the sense it was made for use as money. It is a "medal", privately made, to commemorate the people and events upon it. It might have been sold as a souvenir, or it might have been given away to people present at a certain event. Sometimes - as is the case with this medal - the event being commemorated is actually stated on the medal itself. In this case, the event in question was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Sunday School movement by Robert Raikes, held in Manchester on 8th September 1831. This happened to coincide with the date of the coronation of William IV, so the royal couple get a mention on the other side of the medal.
Here is the example of this same medal in the British Museum's collection: https://www.britishmuseum.org/colle...ect/C_M-6139
It's obviously in nicer condition than yours, but otherwise the same. The medal also comes in pewter: https://www.britishmuseum.org/colle...ect/C_M-6140
The same portrait of Raikes was used on other medals by that same medal manufacturer, such as this one: https://www.britishmuseum.org/colle...ect/C_M-6138
As a rather large medal (the Museum's example is quoted at 43mm) it wouldn't have been given away to children; rather, it would have either been sold as a souvenir or given to dignitaries or guests at the public event. Given the "dual nature" of the item (commemorating both the Sunday School thing and the Coronation thing), I suspect it was sold as a souvenir.
As John noted above, it's not a "coin", in the sense it was made for use as money. It is a "medal", privately made, to commemorate the people and events upon it. It might have been sold as a souvenir, or it might have been given away to people present at a certain event. Sometimes - as is the case with this medal - the event being commemorated is actually stated on the medal itself. In this case, the event in question was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Sunday School movement by Robert Raikes, held in Manchester on 8th September 1831. This happened to coincide with the date of the coronation of William IV, so the royal couple get a mention on the other side of the medal.
Here is the example of this same medal in the British Museum's collection: https://www.britishmuseum.org/colle...ect/C_M-6139
It's obviously in nicer condition than yours, but otherwise the same. The medal also comes in pewter: https://www.britishmuseum.org/colle...ect/C_M-6140
The same portrait of Raikes was used on other medals by that same medal manufacturer, such as this one: https://www.britishmuseum.org/colle...ect/C_M-6138
As a rather large medal (the Museum's example is quoted at 43mm) it wouldn't have been given away to children; rather, it would have either been sold as a souvenir or given to dignitaries or guests at the public event. Given the "dual nature" of the item (commemorating both the Sunday School thing and the Coronation thing), I suspect it was sold as a souvenir.
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
