Summary
Australia South Australia Adelaide
William Morgan Token Penny 1858 (AD)
Mint: W.J.Taylor, London
Standard References: Andrews 386 = Heyde 186/2
Physical Description
A round copper token (34 mm diameter). The token features the name address and business of the issuer: William Morgan, Hindley Street Adelaide, Wholesale and retail Grocers. The reverse features a female figure representing Justice seated on a wool bale with legs to left but her head and upper body to front. A wine barrel lies on the ground behind her and a three-masted sailing ship sails to the right on the horizon to the left. She wears a blindfold and extends a balanced set of scales with her right hand. With her left she holds an inverted cornucopia from which fruits flow onto the ground. She wears an ancient-style of flowing dress bound at the waist, her left arm bare and right draped to near the elbow.
Obverse Description
WILLIAM MORGAN / WHOLESALE / & / RETAIL / GROCER / HINDLEY STREET / ADELAIDE
Reverse Description
Female figure representing Justice seated on a wool bale with legs to left but her head and upper body to front. A wine barrel lies on the ground behind her and a three-masted sailing ship sails to the right on the horizon to the left. She wears a blindfold and extends a balanced set of scales with her right hand. With her left she holds an inverted cornucopia from which fruits flow onto the ground. She wears an ancient-style of flowing dress bound at the waist, her left arm bare and right draped to near the elbow. Above AUSTRALIA; in exergue, 1858
Edge Description
Plain
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Transfer from National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Mr Alfred Chitty, 15 Mar 1976
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Date Issued
1858 AD
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Issued By
William Morgan - Wholesale and Retail Grocers, Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1858
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Mint
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Previous Collection
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Inscriptions
Obverse: WILLIAM MORGAN WHOLESALE & RETAIL GROCER HINDLEY STREET ADELAIDE Reverse: AUSTRALIA 1858
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Denomination
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Series
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Material
Copper
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Axis
12
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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Dimensions
34 mm (Outside Diameter), 16.219 g (Weight)
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Shape
Round
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References
Andrews 386 = Heyde 186/2 W.J. Taylor employed two stock 'seated Justice' reverse dies to strike the Morgan order. The two resultant die combinations seen on the tokens are employed both for museum storage and standard references. Identification of the reverse dies is simplest by measuring the height of the letters used for the word AUSTRALIA and the space between the closest point of the first A to the horizon line. The die characteristics on these are: Die Letter height A to horizon 1 2.3 mm 11.5 mm 2 2.0 mm 10.9 mm This token was struck from die 2
[Book] Andrews, Arthur. 1921. Australasian Tokens and Coins.
[Book] Heyde, Gilbert C. & Skinner, Dion H. 1967. Unofficial Coins of Colonial Australia and New Zealand.
