You may
remember the humble farthing once being in circulation, or at
least will have seen an example of the coin with its distinctive
image of a wren. In the 17th Century the farthing was an
important part of the coinage, however, during the Civil War,
the production of these copper coins ceased leading to a
shortage of small change. So that trade could still take place,
traders started to issue their own tokens, many made from metal
(copper, brass, lead or pewter) some made from leather, most
with the equivalent value of a farthing. Trade tokens issued in
Yorkshire were mainly circular in shape, but square, octagonal
and heart-shaped tokens were also made. These tokens were never
acknowledged as official coinage but were widely accepted until
1672 when the production of farthings resumed and privately
produced tokens were forbidden by royal proclamation.
In 1891 a
catalogue of 17th Century trade tokens was published, by which
time many tokens were no doubt lost. This catalogue listed just
one token which had been produced in Tickhill, the token's
details being as follows: obverse side - 1664 Thomas Turnell;
reverse side - TT of Tickhill Mercer. The Parish Register's
first reference to Thomas Turnell was at the beginning of 1658
when his daughter Elizabeth was baptised. Thomas was then
described as a weaver. By 1660 he was called a mercer, when his
son, also called Thomas, was baptised. In two subsequent entries
in 1666 and 1668 Thomas was still a mercer, but from 1672 he was
listed as a gentleman. The 1672 Hearth Tax accounts show that
Thomas's house on Northgate had four hearths; only nine other
people occupied properties in Tickhill with more hearths. Thomas
was clearly prospering. It would be reasonable to suppose from
his one token's survival that Thomas would have produced more
than one token, that the tokens were needed and accepted in the
Tickhill area and that, in all probability, Thomas was not the
only trader here issuing tokens.
Another token
was found at Bawtry by W. Peck and recorded in his
A Topographical History and Description of Bawtry and Thorne (1813).
This brass, heart-shaped, token on the obverse side states:
William Maltby Mercer 1668, and on the reverse side: of Bawtrey
his Halfe Penny MWR. In rural areas it is likely that mercers
traded in a range of goods, not only textiles, and so it is not
surprising that Thomas Turnell and William Maltby produced
tokens to facilitate trading in this area.
The 1891
catalogue included tokens issued elsewhere in Yorkshire. Some
had designs showing the King's Head, a Rose and Crown or George
and the Dragon as expressions of loyalty to the Crown from 1660,
while other 17th Century tokens had emblems indicating the
traders' businesses, for example:
Place of issue |
Emblem |
Doncaster |
Drapers' Arms, Bakers' Arms |
Pontefract |
Grocers' Arms, Tallow Chandlers' Arms |
Sheffield |
Grocers' Arms, Drapers' Arms |
Wakefield |
Grocers' Arms, Apothecaries' Arms |
York |
Grocers' Arms, Pinners' Arms |
These trades were
not represented in Tickhill in the 17th Century according to the
Parish Register, although most of them were mentioned in Parish
Registers in the 18th Century.
For more
information about trade tokens see the website:
http://www.britishfarthings.com
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