Can anyone identify this coin please

[boobadaddy]

Hi, my late father was a detectorist, and he found this coin in the Pontefract area. He tried to ID the coin and failed, as I seem to be doing. I would really appreciate help, as it's been a mystery for years.

Kindest regards Graham

[Chris Perkins]

It's some kind of 'Conder' regional token, almost certainly a halfpenny. Date appears to be 1791. That's probably a sheep fleece in the coat of arms and it's probably a bishop on the other side - someone will know what town that makes it! Unless you can read anything off it.

[boobadaddy]

Thank you Chris this is great information.  It’s the first info I’ve got. 

[Chris Perkins]

Here we are, looks like this type, or a similar Paley's issue. D&H on that page is a reference to the major catalogue of such coins by Dalton and Hamer. In it, there are 10 slightly different varieties of basically the same design:

Richard Paley's Bishop Blaize and Lamb Leeds Conder Halfpenny 1791

[boobadaddy]

Thank you again Chris, this looks the exact coin/token. You’ve given me something to research now. I’ve looked for ages for this, even Grok, chat GPT etc. 

kindest regards Graham

[Chris Perkins]

I think any coin person would have recognised it instantly and been able to find the exact type based on the details that can just about be made out. I'm pleased that I was better at it than millions of dollars of silicon valley AI power. I must admit though, I did use google lens to identify something the other day. 😉

I haven't been that active on the forum for quite a while, and do you know what, it's good to be back!