In the late 18th Century, 1790-1797, there was a great shortage of small change, the King had refused to sign the papers, so the Mint couldn’t strike any. The merchants were desperate and the public were going crazy. One enterprising individual decided to make his own copper tokens. These tokens passed as money as the public need something, they would also carry his advertising and, as he was smart, he even made a small profit on them just like the Royal Mint does when it strikes coins today.
Soon many merchants were issuing their own tokens, and then they started to issue commemoratives pieces for collectors. They are fantastic designs and now are over 200 years old.
Finally the Mint issued some Halfpennies in 1799 and the tokens ceased to be used. Today they are widely known as Condor Tokens, named after James Condor who wrote the first catalogue of these Halfpenny Tokens.
We bought a small quantity of many different types in Very Good condition.
The more you order the more different types we will give you. These have great history and are still most reasonable to collect.