COPPER TOKENS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1758, 15 November 1905, Page 70

COPPER TOKENS.

7 AN INTERESTING COLLECTION The curator of the Colonial Museum has just had set up for exhibition an interesting collection of copper tokens formerly in currency in this country. At one time these articles were rather common in all of the Australasian colonies. Their object was, of course, to a large extent advertising, and in 1868 the Australian Governments called up all this irregular currency. It was many years, however, before the New Zealand Government followed suit, for as late as 1881 the firm of Milner and Thomson, music-eellers, of Christchurch, issued a token which is generally regarded as the last of the kind in Australasia. As far as can be ascertained, forty'six New Zealand firms issued copper tokens. There is also a token bearing the simple legend “New Zealand,” the origin of which cannot be discovered. The majority of the tokens bore the value of a penny, though eleven different firms, including Kirkcaldie and Stains, Of Wellington, also minted halfpenny tokens. All the tokens that are known to have been issued are not as yet represented in the collection, but it is hoped that others may be forthcoming, so as to make the display a complete one.

The known tokens were issued in the different centres as follows: Auckland 15. Christchurch 14, Wellington 5, Dunedin 5, New Plymouth 2, Invercargill, Grahamtown, Wanganui, Timaru, and Nelson one each. The tokens were usually of copper, but one Nelson brewing firm’ issued a very simple one, a disc of zinc, with the letter “H.” and the figure indicating the value—from one up to twelve. The Wellington firms that issued tokens were: —D. Anderson and Co., Kirkcaldie and Stains, Lipman Levy, J. W. Mears, and James Wallace. Neither Lipman Levy’s nor Mears’s is represented in the collection. The Museum has also had set up a frame containing specimens of the debentures or paper money that used to be requisitioned in the early days when coin of the realm was not plentiful. There is an 1845 debenture of the Debenture. Association for 2s 6d, redeemable when eight were presented ; a 6d note redeemable on presentation of ten; a £5 promissory-note or debenture of St. John’s College, Auckland, dated 1845; and a £1 note of tie Southern Whale Fisheries Company, issued at the Auckland Islands in 1850, and payable in London. It is hoped that persons possessing tokens or paper money may feel disposed to present them to the collection.