The Collection of British Tokens formed by the late Sven Gahlin

Leicestershire, Elmsthorpe, Richard Fowke, Halfpenny, 1800, ruins of church, rev. wheatsheaf, plough and harrow, edge plain, 18.27g/12h (DH 2). Heavy flan, small b punched sideways under date, otherwise extremely fine and bronzed, very rare £900-1,200

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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Provenance: Baldwin ‘Basement’ Part II, Baldwin Auction 97, 29 September 2015, lot 1179.

Most specimens of Fowke’s private token weigh just over 16 grammes; the significance of the weight of this example is unclear. The b punchmark possibly represents one-time ownership by the eccentric Manchester dealer D.T. Batty (†1896), who is also known to have inked his catalogue numbers on tokens in his personal collection