Description:
Dorsetshire, Wiltshire and Shaftesbury silver sixpence, 1811
Diameter 19mm
The obverse features the inscription 'DORSETSHIRE/WILTSHIRE/AND/SHAFTESBURY/BANK TOKEN/VALUE/SIXPENCE'. The reverse features a coat of arms and the inscription 'SHAFTESBURY BANK/ LICENSED 14th MARCH 1811'. The Napoleonic Wars led to a shortage of regal coinage in the early 19th Century. From 1811 many businesses and companies produced their own token copper and silver coinage of which this is an example.