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Introduction

Issued to stem — you guessed it — a coin shortage.
They finally learned how not to have coin shortages — but not quite yet!

Due to a shortage of coin, the government authorized the Bank of England to issue Spanish dollars, counterstamped with the head of George III. Silver bank tokens were also authorized. Ireland received tokens from1804-06, and again in 1811. English bank tokens were issued in 1811-1816. They were widely counterfeited, and good examples of both issues are difficult to find today.

The silver sixpence and shilling tokens of 1811-1812 were primarily issued by merchants, though there were some city and county issues as well. The purpose, once again, was to alleviate a shortage of coin. As wages and prices escalated, issuing a higher denomination silver token was a reasonable thing to do; an interesting series.

History

• See the history page for more information about these tokens (not available).

Bibliography

• See the bibliography page for related reference books.