History

This section contains information about the fascinating histories of the 18th Century British Provincial Tokens (Conder Tokens) and other related numismatic items.

Americans usually call these tokens “Conder” tokens, after James Conder, an early cataloger of the series.

The following content was on Bill McKivor’s Copper Corner website, and permission to share this with the club has been graciously granted by his family. (Bill passed away in 2021, but we have preserved much of his website here. See these pages for additional historical information and many photos of tokens and medals.)

The major reference work on Conder tokens is The Provincial Token Coinage of the 18th Century by R. Dalton and S. H. Hamer. Simply referred to as “D&H” by most collectors, it contains descriptions of thousands of tokens, with 4500 plated.

There are several different reprints, of differing quality of printing. Some can be found on various used book sites and through numismatic literature dealers. The most recent reprint was by our late club president Bill McKivor in 2015 and contains a useful update of hundreds of new varieties found since the original D&H was printed. The 2015 reprint is available from multiple sources including Charlie Davis and Kolbe & Fanning in the US and Merfyn Williams and Alan Judd in the UK.

For a much more extensive bibliography, see Bill McKivor’s legacy pages. (Then look for “Books” on the “Introduction” page.)