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Peck 730

Some interesting perspectives on the bronze coinage of Queen Victoria from 1860 to 1894, written in 1907 by Fleet Surgeon A E Weightman, RN. Although why he refers to Leonard Charles Wyon as Leonard Courtney Wyon, I've no idea - mistake, or did he know something we don't? link to pages

John Clarke & Co. wasn't just advertising on tokens, but also in cookbooks ! From Soyer's "A Shilling Cookbook for the People", 1855, a full page advert. If I have a free afternoon I might go over to the British Library and see if it really was patented.

I recently picked up this, John Clark & Co.'s penny token, 1854. Same size and weight as a pre-1860 copper penny. What I find surprising about this issue is the "PAYABLE AT JOHN CLARK & CO" legend - this was presumably still illegal as of 1854 under the 1818 act banning private coinage ? In any case, this piece is rather rare, so perhaps it was not issued in enough quantity for anyone to care particularly about it. The "Professor Holloway" issue of 1857 and 1858 was much larger in quantity, and saw circulation in London, but had no indication that it was a payable token.

Yes....this morning I remembered who I was.....