Description:
Birmingham copper penny token, 1812
Diameter 35mm
The obverse features two hands joined above the date within a central ring. The inscription around the outside reads 'UNION COPPER COMPANY/ BIRMINGHAM'. The reverse features the value within a central ring and the inscription 'FOR PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION' around the outside, with a flower below flanked by dots. 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.