Summary

Copper One Penny Token, minted by W.J. Taylor, London. Issued by Hanks & Lloyd, Australian Tea Mart, Sydney, 1855. J.G. Hanks joined A. Lloyd to open a business in 1855. The same year Hanks and Lloyd must have received their first tokens, as the partners used them as commemoratives for the opening of the first Sydney Railway in1855, an excellent publicity opportunity. In 1858 the company had changed name, becoming Hanks & Co. It seems that Lloyd was still participating in the business, but he had always been the junior partner.

Physical Description

A round copper token (34 mm dia) featuring the name, address and business of the issuing company Hanks & Lloyd Sydney Tea Market. This token appears to have been buried, it is irregularly toned and generally lightly pitted. The Hanks and Lloyd penny token orders employed three obverse and two reverse dies. The reverses are either dated 1855 or 1857 but the obverse die identification is based on the height of the letters in the word SYDNEY, the length of the word HANKS together with the number of border dots. In this case: The obverse has 137 dots around the rim. The letters in the word SYDNEY are 3 mm high and HANKS is 17.5 mm long. The reverse has a border of 135 dots and the P of PEACE almost touches the emu's back - it is from the same die used on the Hanks & Co. 1857 issue see NU3807

Obverse Description

At centre, HANKS / AND / LLOYD; around, AUSTRALIAN TEA MART . SYDNEY .

Reverse Description

Coat of Arms consisting of a central shield below a Rising Sun supported by an emu at left and kangaroo at right all resting on a ribbon with the motto ADVANCE AUSTRALIA. The shield is quartered and contains: upper left - a golden fleece; upper right - a three-masted sailing ship; lower left - a bull standing facing left; lower right an anchor. Above, PEACE & PLENTY; below, 1857

Edge Description

Plain

More Information

  • Collection Names

    Royal Melbourne Mint Collection

  • Collecting Areas

    Numismatics & Philately, Sustainable Futures, Working Life & Trades

  • Acquisition Information

    Transfer from Melbourne Branch of Royal Mint, 1978

  • Date Issued

    1857 AD

  • Issued By

    Hanks & Lloyd, Sydney, Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1855

  • Mint

    W.J.Taylor, Mint, London, England, Great Britain, 1857

  • Previous Collection

    Royal Mint, Melbourne Branch

  • Inscriptions

    Obverse: HANKS AND LLOYD AUSTRALIAN TEA MART SYDNEY Reverse: PEACE & PLENTY 1857 ADVANCE AUSTRALIA

  • Denomination

    1 Penny

  • Series

    Trade Tokens

  • Material

    Copper

  • Axis

    12

  • Classification

    Trade tokens, Australia - new south wales, Working strikes

  • Category

    History & Technology

  • Discipline

    Numismatics

  • Type of item

    Object

  • Dimensions

    34 mm (Outside Diameter), 14.723 g (Weight)

  • Shape

    Round

  • References

    Standard reference catalogues and the museum storage system for tokens are based on the exact die combination employed at the mint to strike each token. The Hanks and Lloyd penny token orders employed three obverse and two reverse dies. The reverses are easy to identify as they are either dated 1855 or 1857 but the obverse die identification is based on the height of the letters in the word SYDNEY, the length of the word HANKS together with the number of border dots. In this case: The obverse has 137 dots around the rim and the letter S in both SYDNEY and HANKS are not re-entered. The letters in the word SYDNEY are 3 mm high and HANKS is 17.5 mm long. The reverse has a border of 135 dots and the P of PEACE almost touches the emu's back - it is the same die used on the Hanks & Co. 1857 issue see NU3807
    [Book] Andrews, Arthur. 1921. Australasian Tokens and Coins., No. 192
    [Book] Heyde, Gilbert C. & Skinner, Dion H. 1967. Unofficial Coins of Colonial Australia and New Zealand., No. 97/3

  • Keywords

    Retailing, Shops, Tea