Summary

Australia New South Wales Sydney
Whitty & Brown Token Penny c.1860 (AD)
Mint: Whitty and Brown

Standard References: Andrews 627 = Heyde 275/4

Physical Description

A round copper token (33 mm diameter). The token design featuring the name the issuer and manufacturer: Whitty & Brown, Sydney. It features the head of a male facing left and a representation of Justice standing blindfolded holding scales and an inverted cornucopiae spilling fruit on the ground. A sailing ship is on the horizon. The die work is of poor quality and the token weakly struck. This token was struck during the second stage of the obverse and reverse dies. In Stage 1 the obverse has fairly realistic rendition of the hair, with the side-burns extending to the top of the ear-lobe, the truncation of the neck comes to a slightly upturned point and the word SYDNEY is 18.0 mm long. Stage 2 has the hair formed by scratched lines with the side-burn extending half way along the jaw, the word SYDNEY is 19 mm long. Stage 1 of the reverse is easiest to recognise by the fold of cloth which curves over the right shoulder and arm of Justice, on Stage 2 it is reformed as a sleeve squared off half way down the arm.

Obverse Description

Head of man facing to left (some die deterioration in field from forehead head has been re-engraved on die); around, WHITTY & BROWN MAKERS; below, SYDNEY

Reverse Description

Justice standing facing left on sea shore blindfolded and holding balanced scales in right hand, left hand holds inverted cornucopia from which fruits flow, sailing ship in background at left; above, NEW SOUTH WALES

Edge Description

Plain

More Information

  • Collection Names

    Royal Melbourne Mint Collection

  • Collecting Areas

    Numismatics & Philately, Working Life & Trades

  • Acquisition Information

    Transfer from Melbourne Branch of Royal Mint, 1978

  • Date Issued

    circa 1860 AD

  • Issued By

    Whitty & Brown (Mint), Sydney, Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

  • Mint

    Whitty & Brown (Mint), Sydney, Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1850-1868

  • Previous Collection

    Royal Mint, Melbourne Branch

  • Inscriptions

    Obverse: WHITTY & BROWN MAKERS SYDNEY Reverse: NEW SOUTH WALES

  • Denomination

    1 Penny

  • Series

    Trade Tokens

  • Material

    Copper

  • Axis

    05

  • Classification

    Trade tokens, Australia - new south wales, Working strikes

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    Numismatics

  • Type of item

    Object

  • Dimensions

    33 mm (Outside Diameter), 15.187 g (Weight)

  • Shape

    Round

  • References

    Andrews 627 = Heyde 275/4 "Whitty was a brass founder, Brown an engraver. After dissolution of their partnership, Whitty continued to produce crudely cast pieces which were accepted as currency equally with struck tokens "the public being not in the least particular" (dr. Mark Long in Spinks' Numismatic Circular, Sept., 1898)." Heyde p. 85 The large issues manufactured and issued by the firm Whitty and Brown employed three obverse and four reverse dies. The company had problems with the dies and repaired them. The museum storage is based on major re-working of the dies, not fine details of deterioration as Andrews and Heyde have listed. This type, the head obverse and Justice reverse has two stages. Stage 1 has fairly realistic rendition of the hair, with the side-burns extending to the top of the ear-lobe, the truncation of the neck comes to a slightly upturned point and the word SYDNEY is 18.0 mm long. Stage 2 has the hair formed by scratched lines with the side-burn extending half way along the jaw, the word SYDNEY is 19 mm long. Stage 1 of the reverse is easiest to recognise by the fold of cloth which curves over the right shoulder and arm of Justice, on Stage 2 it is reformed as a sleeve squared off half way down the arm. See NU 11639 for stage 1.
    [Book] Andrews, Arthur. 1921. Australasian Tokens and Coins.
    [Book] Heyde, Gilbert C. & Skinner, Dion H. 1967. Unofficial Coins of Colonial Australia and New Zealand.

  • Keywords

    Art