David Lisot Video Library (1989)
Multi-Media Summary
The regal coinage output of Great Britain was at best very spotty during the latter half of the 18th century. Small change, the backbone of the working man's economy, was nearly nonexistent. To alleviate this shortage, and to pay their laborers, many merchants produced halfpenny and farthing tokens. As soon as collectors of the day showed an interest in these pieces, unscrupulous merchants and counterfeiters manufactured their own fabrications, thus destroying the economic integrity of the tokens. Frank Van Valen discusses connections between Conder tokens and our own Hard Times tokens. He traces the evolution of these tokens from their beginnings in Wales in 1787, and relates them to our own colonial coins. He answers the rather intriguing question of how Conder tokens got their name. His slide and lecture presentation feature rare and interesting items, many in Proof condition, and show such famous items as the "slave" token, Lady Godiva, and the two-headed cow! Speaker(s): Frank Van Valen.
