Shropshire, Boscobel, an unfinished uniface trial for the rev. of Westwood’s Halfpenny, oak-tree laden with fewer branches than on the issued token, base of the trunk and top of the root stem with a circular surround, thick ground-line, witness lines demarcate legend area, edge payable at macclesfield liverpool or congleton, 12.67g (DH –). Rim knock at 8 o’clock and other stress marks on the back, otherwise very fine with brown patina, apparently unpublished, UNIQUE
£1,000-£1,500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of British Tokens formed by the late Sven Gahlin.

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Collection

Provenance: J. O’Byrne Collection, Part II, Christie’s Auction, 10 July 1962, lot 128 (part); with Baldwin; bt H. Simmons October 1989.

To make this token John Westwood used one of the blanks intended for the Macclesfield Copper Co (Roe & Co) series, which he struck at his premises in Great Charles street, Birmingham. Westwood was responsible for the finished Boscobel tokens (DH Shropshire 1), which couple the bust of Charles II with a modified tree and were struck on blanks intended for tokens for John Wilkinson and the Irish Mine Co, Cronebane