1668 KINGS LYN FARTHING

[Guest CRAIGSD_I'm_a_Guest]

I RECENTLY AQUIRED THIS COIN/TOKEN BUT CANT FIND ANY INFO IN MY COINCRAFT,SPINKS OR KRAUSE.ITS 20MM IN SIZE,COPPER AND THE OBVERSE SAYS::KINGS.LYN FARTHING 1668 AND HAS A ROSE ON THE TOP AND THE BOTTOM. THE REVERSE HAS WHAT APPEARS TO BE 3 HANDS EACH HOLDING A CROSS INSIDE OF A SHIELD. I WOULD GRADE IT ABOUT F/VF. ANY INFO ON THIS AND ANY GUESSTIMATE ON VALUE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.---THANX

[Emperor Oli]

1668 is Charles II, but there were no farthings struck in that year. Like you, I have just looked in Spink and Coincraft but found no reference which leads me to believe that it is a provincial token. I understand 18th century provincial tokens to be "Conders" but I don't know if this term applies to 17th century ones. It's definitely not official. Is it milled or hammered? Register and post a picture, that would help.

[CRAIGSD]

I KNEW IT WASNT AN OFFICIAL PIECE,IT APPEARS TO BE MILLED. WHERE WAS KINGS LYN.THE SELLER SATS ITS FROM NORFOLK COUNTY AND WAS ISSUED DURING THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR. DOES ANY ONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT.

[Master Jmd]

Not that its the same date, but does it look anything like this:

?

[CRAIGSD]

no,it dosnt look like that. the obverse is pretty simple,just says -kings lyn farthing-,each word above the other with a small rose at the top and the bottom.the reverse has 3 small hands inside of a shield. each hand appears to be holding a small cross.

[Emperor Oli]

King's Lynn still exists and is highlighted on the map below

[Emperor Oli]

The obverse looks as you described...

[CRAIGSD]

DOES ANYONE KNOW ANY INFO ON WHY THIS WAS MADE?SOMEONE THOUGHT BECAUSE OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR.I'M A YANK AND DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR.COULD THIS COIN HAVE BEEN MADE BECAUSE OF SOME COIN SHORTAGE.I KNOW ITS NOT AN OFFICIAL PIECE BUT WAS IT JUST A TRADE TOKEN OR WAS IT USED AS CURRENCY. THAT PICTURE OF THE 1669 FARTHING POSTED IS THE EXACT COIN I HAVE.---THANX

[mint_mark]

As you suggest, these tokens were made by local towns and merchants because there was a shortage of coins. Although there may have been enough official high value coinage (gold and silver) there was a shortage of low value small change, so those with little money ran out of coins to spend and nobody else could give change.

This has happened several times in Britain... these 17th century tokens are often found with inscriptions mentioning charity or alms or the poor... this is because people could use a farthing token to make a donation where a penny (the smallest silver coin) might be more than they could afford to spare.

There is another series at the end of the 18th century ("Conder" tokens) that have huge variety and interesting designs... again mostly issued by local merchants. And again at the start of the 19th century. Each time the government eventually minted more coins and the unofficial tokens were declared illegal.

I believe there are similar tokens in the US from the civil war period called "hard times" tokens, as well as some unofficial coins made in the first colonial settlements where coins were also in short supply.