Description:
Birmingham and Warwickshire copper penny token, 1812
Diameter 35mm
The obverse features a crown within a central ring. The inscription reads 'BIRMINGHAM & WARWICKSHIRE.' The reverse features the inscription 'ONE PENNY 1812' within a central ring and 'FOR GENERAL CIRCULATION' around the outside. 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.