Great Britain 1812 Essex British Copper Company 1 Penny Token Very Fine (VF20) Impaired

Great Britain 1812 Essex British Copper Company 1 Penny Token Very Fine (VF20) Impaired

Due to poor production standards, the Napoleonic Wars, and the booming Industrial Revolution drawing people to city factory work, the late 18th and early 19th centuries saw a drastic shortage of official coinage in Britain. To fill the need, private businesses began producing unofficial tokens that were relatively close in shape and size to standard-issue coins. Begrudgingly tolerated by the government, these circulated in the economy until they were outlawed with the Great Recoinage of 1816. This token, issued by the British Copper Company, spotlights the Walthamstow Rolling Mills, a copper processing plant perched on the River Lea.