Description: 1820 LOWER CANADA 1/2 PENNY KING GEORGE IV 9 STRINGS ON HARP TOKEN LC-60-17 LC-60-17 (previously LC-60-E2). Brass 27.5mm, 1.08", 4.9g ObverseLaureate head depicts King George IV in cuirass (body armour) facing left.ReverseA harp incorporating the body of a winged female facing left, date below. Bust and harp tokens The obverse depicts a crude bust of George III wearing a cuirass. In the majority of these tokens the bust faces left, though in a single rare variety it faces right. The reverse features a harp with a frame incorporating a female winged figure facing left. The date 1820 appears below the harp, with 1825 appearing on one rare variety which is generally accepted as the date when they were originally issued. These tokens were struck primarily in copper and brass, weigh between 4.2 and 6.8 g, and vary between 28.3 and 28 mm in diameter. One rare variety was made of a lead-bronze alloy, weighing 5.2 g and is 27.6 mm in diameter. There are 26 major varieties of this token recognized by modern collectors,[9] distinguished primarily by the alloy used, particular features of the bust on the obverse, and the number of strings in the harp on the reverse. The Bust and Harp tokens were tokens originally issued anonymously in the mid-1820s and circulated primarily in Lower Canada (present-day Quebec). Due to their anonymous nature, it is not known who placed the order for the original tokens, but they are believed to have been minted in England beginning in 1825. The initial release of the tokens was dated 1825, but a currency regulation issued that same year made the importation of privately issued tokens illegal. As a result, the initial issue was altered and all subsequent issues of these tokens were antedated to 1820 in order to get around this prohibition, which did not prohibit tokens made before this date. They were circulated in large quantities and were widely imitated by minters located in Canada, making for many varieties. Those of particularly poor craftsmanship are considered examples of Blacksmith tokens. They were roughly the size of a contemporaneous half-penny, though generally weighed less. They were widely circulated in Lower Canada for at least 30 years, after which banks began to refuse them as payment except by weight. The more common Bust and Harp tokens can be had for about a few tens of C$, though rarer varieties can command prices in the thousands of dollars
Price: 29.95 USD
Location: Havertown, Pennsylvania
End Time: 2024-02-20T02:53:27.000Z
Shipping Cost: 1.95 USD
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