 
Although this 1790 token is engraved
"Edinburgh Halfpenny" it
could also be found
in areas around the Capital city, including East Lothian.
The obverse side shows St Andrew holding a saltire cross,
and the reverse has the
Edinburgh coat of arms surmounted by an anchor signifying the port of Leith.
The Latin inscription says "Nemo me
impune lacessit" and translates as
"No-one provokes me with impunity".
The edge states......"Payable at the
warehouse of Thomas & Alexander Hutchison"
Known as "Conder" tokens they were issued
by merchants due to a severe shortage of genuine coinage,
whose production was licensed to various nobles under patronage from the
monarch.
This had been a growing problem since the time of James VI of Scotland.
(James I of England) 1566 - 1625.
The tokens were generally of small denomination as might be needed for
everyday purchases.
Thousands of different types were issued and groups of traders would
come to
an agreement whereby they would accept each others tokens.
When they had sufficient they would return them to the issuer in
exchange for genuine coinage.
It's
maybe helpful to note that in pre-decimal days.....
| 240 |
Pennies |
= |
£1
|
(Note) |
|
| 3 |
Pennies |
= |
Threepence |
(Coin) |
Pronounced "Thruh-pence" |
| 6
|
Pennies |
= |
Sixpence |
(Coin) |
Unofficially
known as a "Tanner" |
| 12 |
Pennies
|
= |
1 Shilling
|
(Coin) |
Unofficially
known as a "Bob" |
| 24
|
Pennies
|
= |
2 Shillings
|
(Coin) |
Officially a
"Florin" |
| 10 |
Florins |
= |
£1 |
(Note) |
|
| 30 |
Pennies |
= |
2 Shillings and
Sixpence |
(Coin) |
Officially "Half
a Crown" or "Half Crown" |
| 8 |
Half Crowns |
= |
£1 |
|
|
Therefore 480 Halfpennies added up to
an "old" pound, although an even smaller
denomination known as a "Farthing" would also be in circulation at this
time.
A Farthing was half a "Halfpenny"
"Halfpenny" was almost universally
pronounced as "hay-penny".
There were 240 pennies in £1 as,
originally, 240 coins of a suitable size could be struck from a "pound"
(weight) of silver.
The value of the silver soon proved to be higher than the face value of
the coin and so "copper" pennies were introduced.
|
