PREVIEW: BRITISH 17 CENTURY TRADE TOKENS 26 APRIL

As we prepare to launch this landmark auction – the first by a major London house devoted entirely to 17th century tokens – a key lecture on 24 April will set these fascinating pieces in context.

Laura Burnett will deliver the lecture, entitled The industrious revolution illustrated: 17th century trade tokens – trade, retail and occupational identity, at the British Numismatic Society, two days prior to the auction. Further details and a Zoom link to the lecture are available by contacting ppm@noonans.co.uk

Featuring almost 2,000 pieces from almost all corners of the kingdom, the sale includes 477 from the James Lamb Collection of 17th Century Tokens from the London Borough of Stepney to the Yorkshire 17th Century Tokens from the Collection of Geoff Percival.

From the former comes the Humphry Boone square Halfpenny, found during the excavation of the Wendover bypass in Buckinghamshire in 1995.

Inscribed with an anchor and Humphrey Boone to the obverse, and On the Greene Bancke his half penny to the reverse, the token heralds from Wapping and is the only known specimen. The estimate is £500-700.

As James Lamb explains: "By collecting the tokens of Stepney my intention has been to examine what has become of the borough, particularly its 17th century economy, through the lens of these pieces of history.

"It was an extremely dynamic time for the area, much of which had been reclaimed from swampland in the previous century. There were many maritime connections and industries. Dozens of tokens are named for anchors, mariners, draymen, mermaids, Seven Stars, etc. Maritime themes include mariners using astrological instruments or contemplating the globe.

"Several tokens were issued by sea captains, who generally lived at the top of the hill in Ratcliff, away from the noise and smells of the waterfront. At least one issuer, Richard Whitpaine of Ratcliff, owned property in the New World, in Philadelphia. The Wills of some issuers were administered by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, which often meant that they had died overseas, presumably engaged in some maritime enterprise, such as Thomas Wadland of Ratcliff. I like to think that the map shown on Andrew Welch’s Upper Shadwell token is of western Long Island and New York harbour, then recently captured from the Dutch, but I recognize that many will disagree!"

The tokens also reflect the wide range of industries in the locale: shipbuilders, coopers, rope makers, coal yards, glassmakers, whalers, soap sellers, to name but a few.

"This era was the last gasp of the guild system," says James. "In the booming communities along the waterfront, individual businesses grew quickly and preferred to compete on their own merits. Some of these were naval contractors, including the brewer Anthony Phillips at Wapping New Stairs, and most likely John Shakespeare, ropemaker of Rope Walk, Ratcliff. Several maritime destinations are mentioned: Flushing, Copenhagen, Lee and Lynn, for example, and two vessels, the frigate Speaker and the Golden Cross. And we must not forget Execution Dock, the terminus for nefarious seamen."

Noonans' Special Projects Director Peter Preston-Morley notes: "The collection includes a number of pieces that have not been previously recorded in the token media, mostly finds from the Thames foreshore, a rich hunting ground for detectorists and others in recent years.

From the Geoff Percival collection comes a heart-shaped Halfpenny of 1669, for Peter Dale of Scarborough. With a cannon to the reverse, it is a metal detector find from, 2001. The estimate is £300-£400.