Obverse. Photo © Museums Victoria / CC BY
  • 1/2 Penny 1840-1843, KM# 3, Nova Scotia, Victoria
  • 1/2 Penny 1840-1843, KM# 3, Nova Scotia, Victoria
Description

The local legislature of Nova Scotia had sought the right to issue coins in 1817 and got as far as legislation being passed in Britain but this failed to gain Royal Assent. In 1824 they ordered tokens from a firm in Birmingham without seeking approval from the Home Office. These proved successful and further orders were made in 1832, 1840 and 1843. On 25 October 1855 they sought approval for a further issue. This was approved by the British Treasury and resulted in a new authorised issue in 1856 still using the word 'token', an indication that the metal content of the pieces was not full value.

Obverse

Young head of the Queen facing left, surrounded by the province name.

Victoria (1819–1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India. She inherited the throne at the age of 18, after her father's three elder brothers had all died, leaving no surviving legitimate children. Victoria married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. Their nine children married into royal and noble families across the continent, tying them together and earning her the sobriquet "the grandmother of Europe". Her reign of 63 years and seven months is known as the Victorian era and was longer than that of any of her predecessors. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.

Engraver: William Wyon

PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA

Reverse

Deopicts a two-leaved thistle head, value above, date below.

Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the plant against herbivorous animals, discouraging them from feeding on the plant. Typically, an involucre with a clasping shape of a cup or urn subtends each of a thistle's flowerheads.

HALFPENNY TOKEN
1840

Edge

1/2 Penny

Token
KM# 3 Breton# 874
Characteristics
Material Copper
Weight 8.87 g
Diameter 28.38 mm
Thickness 1.68 mm
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Heaton Mint, Birmingham (H)

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