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Token collecting – A Beginner’s Guide
Exonumia. An interesting word with Greek origins which describes exchangeable coin-like objects with value, but which were not or are not legal tender. Literally, objects which are outside of coinage. In a word, tokens.
What do we mean by ‘tokens’
In the world of numismatics this broad description includes objects used as i.o.u.s, counterstamped coins, commemorative medals (if they became an informal currency), and other objects such as transport tokens –as for ferries or trams – and anything else with an accepted value that has a coin-like purpose.
Often they are or were used in a closed system or a particular locality, typically as a medium of exchange halfway between barter and legal tender. For example, as ‘good for’ a certain product or value on the edges of European expansion across North America.
The group covers many other sub-categories (are you of an age to remember the various Esso World Cup coins?) and
includesgambling chips as well as gaming tokens for use in arcades. However, to keep this introduction simple, we’re going to focus on the narrower, coin-like, definition and leave the novelty, gaming and gambling industries to one side for the time being.
Exonumia is a word used more frequently in the USA. In the UK you’re more likely to hear the term paranumismatica – although that too is usually replaced by the simpler word ‘token’.
Why collect tokens? Are they worth collecting?
The appeal of tokens is very similar to that of coins: in your hand you have a piece of history, rubbed smooth or perhaps scratched, with a story all of its own. There is a rich heritage that comes with tokens, and especially from those produced in Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Additionally, with tokens, it is usually possible to pin down their origin very precisely, so they can come with a really local appeal which is heightened if you happen to have a personal or family connection to the story.
And are they worth collecting? Well, the market is lively and these are very collectable items. Mostly they are not expensive – many change hands for tens of pounds rather than hundreds – which makes collecting them a very accessible hobby.
The Origin of Tokens
Tokens can be broadly split into three groups: commercial, commemorative and personal. We’re focusing primarily on the first, although there is some overlap between them, especially the first two.
It is thought that the ancient Romans used tokens, albeit selectively. In Britain more recently, most commercial tokens were produced unofficially to stand in for small change, in times when the monarch and the Royal Mint did not produce enough coins to satisfy demand. Because of this, they were often tolerated by the government.
The first large scale occurrence in Britain seems to have been under King James I, when farthings (a quarter of a penny) were first produced in copper. Although minted with the King’s approval, they quickly came to be seen more as tokens than coins, because they could not be exchanged for their face value in silver.
In Britain, the 17th and 18th centuries were intermittently plagued by shortages of official coin. Often this was as a result of a lack of silver due to the cost of numerous wars, or a reluctance by the government to tackle the job of reforming the currency. It was not until after the Napoleonic wars that long lasting changes were made that took tokens out of widespread circulation.
Some examples of collectable tokens
Jetons
Jetons were coin-like tokens used throughout europe, including Britain, from the 13thto the 18th century, mainly as aids in counting and calculation, in a similar way to beads on an abacus.Most were produced on the continent, so British made Jetons have a modest rarity value. The appeal for a collector comes in the shape, colour and designs – sometimes ornate – that came to typify particular regions or cities. Often they had a hole or depressions punched in the middle to deter fake silvering or gilding, and being passed off as coins.
Tokens of the English Civil War
The English Civil Wars (1642-1649) was a chaotic time, including with competing currencies and in particular a lack of good quality small coinage, which the King had not considered important.
During the war the Royalists and Parliamentarians issued their own currency. Towns under siege (Newark, for example) also issued their own tokens. The eventual end of the fighting – with the execution of the king and a new (and low quality) commonwealth currency – resulted in effective de-regulation of minted coinage.
Many merchants, large businesses, larger inns and even local authorities produced their own hand-struck ‘coins’ for local circulation and as a means of doing business. Most such tokens were very basic by modern standards, but they met an important need.
Conder Tokens (18th Century provincial tokens).
The following century saw a similar picture re-appear, especially when government backed coins were scarce. By the closing quarter of the century, and further fuelled by the industrial revolution, the habit of issuing local tokens was again widespread, simply as a means of easing local commerce in a way which was trusted by the participants.
An early numismatist, James Conder, not only issued tokens for his own drapery business in Ipswich, but also collected and catalogued other tokens from around the country. The much later discovery of part of his collection has lent his name to British tokens from this period.
Conder tokens are much sought after. They range from fairly modest tokens issued by pubs and small businesses, to genuinely coin-like objects – such as those issued by the Parys Mine Company of Anglesey in the 1780s.
Military Tokens & Challenge Coins
Military tokens – sometimes called Challenge Coins – are tokens produced for use within the military, to signal membership of a group, such as belonging to a particular regiment or corps or unit. They are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, because usually they are given with a handshake.
The connection with ‘challenge’ links back to the days when a soldier might be challenged on returning to camp or barracks. Showing the coin was a way to prove membership and identity. More subtly, receipt of the token issues the recipient with the challenge to live up to the ideals of the unit to which he belongs.
Challenge coins are almost always round and will be decorated, sometimes enamelled, and often with lettering engraved round the edges. Their use now extends well beyond the military, and they have been used by businesses and civil organisations as well as private societies.
Coins of Lundy
Lundy, an island in the Bristol Channel, gives us a modern example of tokens with a coin-like use and a purported exchange rate with real currency.
Lundy is privately owned, and in 1925 was bought by Martin Coles Harman, who styled himself the King of Lundy. In 1929 he issued coins equivalent in value to a penny and a ha’penny. The full penny was a puffin (in the summer the birds are prolific on the island; islanders used to trade puffins for food and other goods) and the reverse of the coin shows a puffin, with Harman on the obverse. The ha’penny equivalent was a half-puffin. Quite appropriately, the reverse showed just the head of the bird!
About 100,000 of the coins were minted in Birmingham. Harman came to an agreement with the banks in Bideford, on the mainland, to exchange them for legal tender and they were used locally with some success as well as on Lundy. The exercise got Harman into trouble with the law and he eventually lost his claim that Lundy was outside England, which, he argued, would have entitled him to issue his own coins. Eventually the tokens had to be withdrawn from circulation.
In later years – 1965, 1977 and 2011 – there have been new editions of the Lundy Puffin coins, but these have been sold only as collectors items and for tourists. These latter ‘coins’ don’t have the same value as the original 1929 tokens.
Lookout for specialist dealers, and you might also find interesting examples in antique shops or at antique markets. They are unlikely to be rare, but you could find something that others have overlooked. Be careful about what you pay for and do your best to satisfy yourself that the vendor is honest and reliable.
Above all, as you do your research and decide what to collect and buy, remember that you are balancing three elements: scarcity, the condition of the medal and its provenance.
Start to build your collection
As with any collection, the best advice is to start with simple goals. Tokens are typically valued and collected by the three criteria of location, time and type. And while some tokens will be very rare and valuable in objective terms, most do not change hands for large amounts of money. This makes it relatively easy to get started.
Choose a type of token from a particular place and time in history and start doing your research. There are many books on the subject and numerous websites and, increasingly, numismatic online communities, such as Passion Coins, where you can exchange ideas and learn more. Most of all, once you have identified an area of interest, find out as much as you can. If you can validate claims made in one book with statements in others, the chances are that you are on the right track.
The more you learn before your first few purchases, the more confident you will be and the more enjoyment and pleasure you will gain.