Worcestershire Tokens from the Collection of the late John Whitmore

Miscellaneous Tokens and Checks, Worcester, W[orcester] P[orcelain] C[o], white metal, ep, 23mm, 5.54g. Small l stamped on reverse, very fine and extremely rare; no other specimen known to the cataloguer £200-£300

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Worcestershire Tokens from the Collection of the late John Whitmore.

View
Collection

R.N.P. Hawkins Collection, Glendining Auction, 16 March 1988, lot unspecified [acquired January 1975].

The Worcester Royal Porcelain Co, formed in 1862, traced its original founding to June 1751, and its royal warrant tag dated to a visit by George III in 1788. Porcelain tokens to the value of 2 shillings and a shilling, with inscriptions promising payment at the China Factory by William Davis, exist but are of exceptional rarity in commerce (the last specimen seen by the cataloguer was sold in 1998). Davis, by trade an apothecary in Broad street, was the factory manager from 1751 to 1774, when he took over the business; he sold it in 1783 to the company’s London agent, Thomas Flight. The present piece perhaps dates to the first half of the 19th century, but its purpose remains unknown