Summary
Steel one Penny Token obverse die, created by Thomas Stokes in Melbourne, in 1962. Used as a stock die by Thomas Stokes, Diesinker, Token Maker & Medallist, Melbourne. It is badly broken on the working surface with much of the lettering for LETTER and all of CUTTER SEAL lost. Thomas Stokes migrated to Australia in search of gold in the 1850s, being unsuccessful he returned to his trade as a die-maker and button maker. In 1857 Stokes acquired a press from W.J. Taylor and began to mint large numbers of tradesmen's tokens. He also commenced the Australian Medallic Issues. In 1873 Stokes took a partner, Martin, and the business was re-named Stokes & Martin. In 1893 a disastrous fire damaged a large portion of the business, Martin had forgotten to renew the fire insurance policy, and the partnership was dissolved as a result. Stokes rebuilt the business as Stokes & Son. The business became a proprietary concern in 1911, re-named Stokes & Son Pty Ltd. In 1935 the business moved to Brunswick, and in 1962 Stokes became a public company, renamed Stokes (Australasia) Pty Ltd. Today the business is located in Ringwood.
Previous Collections: National Gallery of Victoria
Physical Description
A steel die 54 mm high with a main diameter of 54 mm and a working surface diameter of 34 mm. The die features the name, address and business of the firm: THOMAS STOKES 100 COLLINS STREET EAST MELBOURNE LET[TER CUTTER SEAL] ENGRAVE & TOKEN MAKER. It has badly chipped removing the lettering in square brackets.
Obverse Description
A steel die 52 mm high with a main diameter of 54 mm and a working surface diameter of 34 mm. The die features the name, address and business of the firm: THOMAS STOKES 100 COLLINS STREET EAST MELBOURNE [CHECK] & TOKEN MAKER. It has badly chipped removing the word CHECK and is cracked on the lower half of the working surface.
More Information
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Transfer from National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), 15 Mar 1976
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Date Issued
1862 AD
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Issued By
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Mint
Stokes (Mint), Melbourne, Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1861
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Commissioned By
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Previous Collection
Numismatics Collection, National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), pre 1976
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Inscriptions
THOMAS STOKES 100 COLLINS STREET EAST MELBOURNE LETTER CUTTER SEAL ENGRAVE & TOKEN MAKER
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Denomination
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Series
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Material
Steel
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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
54 mm (Height), 54 mm (Outside Diameter)
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References
Sharples Obverse K
[Article] Sharples, John P. 1993. A Catalogue of the Trade Tokens of Victoria 1848 to 1862. Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia. vol.7: p.1-77.
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Keywords