Description:
Staffordshire copper token, 1820
Diameter 22mm
The obverse features a tea crate with scales above. The inscription reads 'LUCAS' GENUINE TEA WAREHOUSE/ ESTABLISHED 1820'. The reverse features a male figure wearing an apron and appearing at work. The inscription reads 'SUCCESS TO THE TOWN & TRADE OF STONE', referring to the town of Stone in Staffordshire. There are two pierced holes, neither of which appear to be part of the original design. The Napoleonic Wars led to a shortage of regal coinage in the early 19th Century. From 1811 to about 1820 many businesses and companies produced their own token copper and silver coinage of which this is an example.