© AnthonyBoys
© AnthonyBoys
Farthing - Oxfordshire Oxford / City
1652 year| Copper | 15 mm |
| Issuer | England (United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies) |
|---|---|
| Period | Commonwealth (1649-1660) |
| Type | Token |
| Year | 1652 |
| Value | 1 Farthing (1⁄960) |
| Currency | English Trade Tokens (1648-72) |
| Composition | Copper |
| Diameter | 15 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Technique | Hammered |
| Demonetized | Yes |
| Updated | 2024-10-09 |
| Numista | N#373978 |
|---|---|
| Rarity index | 97% |
Reverse
Central initials and date with lettering around.
Script: Latin
Lettering:
OXFORD TOKEN
C.O
1652
. R .
Engraver: Thomas Rawlins
Edge
Plain
Comment
The small R below the date on the reverse is for the engraver, Thomas Rawlins (1620?-1670). Hiss first dated medal was from 1641 and on the outbreak of the English Civil War the following year, he went to the king's headquarters at Oxford. His signature appears on coins of the Oxford mint between 1644 and1646 and in 1644 he produced perhaps his most famous piece known as the 'Oxford crown', due to the view of the city added under the regular equestrian obverse, and was appointed chief engraver of the mint around 1647. After a few years when he was thought to have gone to France, he returned to England in 1652 earning a precarious livelihood, partly by making dies for tradesmen's tokens such as this. After the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, he was reinstated as chief engraver at the Royal Mint and died in 1670.Interesting fact
One interesting fact about the Token Farthing - Oxfordshire (Oxford / City) 1652 from England (United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies) made of Copper is that it was issued during the English Civil War (1642-1651) as a substitute for the official Royal Mint coins, which were scarce at the time. The Token Farthing was minted by the city of Oxford, which was a royalist stronghold, and it features the image of a crowned shield with the letters "OX" on either side, representing the city of Oxford. This coin is a rare example of a local currency issued during a time of political and economic upheaval.
