18th Century Tokens, Cornwall, Penryn, George Chapman George, Halfpenny, 1794, in gold, arms, rev. laureate bust, flags and drum behind, edge plain, 10.45g/6h (DH 4, not recorded in gold). Well worn from being a pocket piece, test mark on either side, otherwise mediocre, of the highest rarity and almost certainly the only known specimen (£2,000-3,000)

Provenance:
Acquired from Mr A.J. Newnham, Portsmouth, August 1937, for £5.

George Chapman George was a captain in the Penryn Volunteers. His halfpence were struck at Matthew Boulton’s works in 1796 and shipped to him in August of that year (Doty, CTCJ March 2000, pp.16-18). The reverse bears the arms of Francis Basset, Baron de Dunstanville (1758-1835), Colonel-in-Chief of the Penryn Volunteers, which was founded in April 1794. Doty refers to a single specimen struck in gold which was part of the August 1796 shipment.

It is believed that this is the first time for over 100 years that any 18th century token in gold has been offered at a public auction