Summary

Copper Halfpenny Token, minted by W.J. Taylor, London. Issued by Hanks & Lloyd, Australian Tea Mart, Sydney, 1857. 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 (28 mm dia) featuring the name, address and business of the issuing company Hanks & Lloyd Sydney Tea Market. This token is cleaned and the reverse is toned green. The Hanks and Lloyd halfpenny 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 length of the word HANKS together with the number of border dots. In this case: The obverse has 110 dots around the rim and HANKS is 12.8 mm long. The reverse is dated 1857.

Obverse Description

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

Reverse Description

Arms of New South Wales; above, PEACE & PLENTY; below, 1857 on ribbon below Arms, ADVANCE AUSTRALIA

Edge Description

Plain

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