Token - 1 Penny, S. Hague Smith, Ironmonger, Auckland, New Zealand, circa 1862
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
circa 1862
Copper One Penny Token, minted by Heaton & Son, Birmingham. Issued by S. Hague Smith, Ironmonger, Auckland, circa 1862. Samuel Hague Smith was born in Lincolnshire in 1840. He arrived in New Zealand in 1859 and established himself as an Ironmonger and shipowner in Auckland. He achieved prominence as a politician, and it has been suggested that Smith's tokens may have been part of his successful campaign for the Newtown seat in the Provincial Council in 1870. Smith fought during the Maori wars and was rewarded with a block of land on Auckland's waterfront at Northcote. He later moved to Sydney, where he became a director of the Colonial Mutual Life Insurance Company. He died in Sydney in 1917. This token commemorated the death of Prince Albert on 14 Dec. 1861.
Previous Collections: National Gallery of Victoria by exchange with Melbourne Mint A round copper token (34 mm diameter). The token features the name, address and business of the issuer: S. Hague Smith, Auckland, wholesale and retail Ironmonger. The reverse features a profile head of Prince Albert and gives the dates of his birth and death - August 26 1819 to 14 December 1861. This token has 490 in ink above issuer's name.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 2
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Edge
- Plain
- Shape
- Round
- Material
- Copper
- Dimensions
- 34 mm (Outside Diameter), 15.071 g (Weight)
Technical characteristics
- Series
- Trade Tokens
- Die axis
- 12
- Date issued
- circa 1862 AD
- Denomination
- 1 Penny
- Mint recorded
- Stokes (Mint) (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)
- Issuer recorded
- S Hague Smith - Ironmonger (Auckland, North Island, New Zealand)
Design
- Obverse
- Legend in five lines with the maker's name between to straight lines: WHOLESALE & RETAIL / IRONMONGER / S. HAGUE SMITH / MERCHANT / AUCKLAND
- Reverse
- Profile head of Albert left, bare, around above PRINCE ALBERT around below BORN AUGT. 26 1819 DIED DECR. 14 1861
- Inscription
- Obverse: WHOLESALE & RETAIL IRONMONGER S. HAGUE SMITH MERCHANT AUCKLAND 490 Reverse: PRINCE ALBERT BORN AUGT. 26 1819 DIED DECR. 14 1861
Identification
- Candidate id
- mv-71333
- Museum object number
- NU 4306
- Catalogue references (museum record)
- The S. Hague Smith issue required seven obverse and three reverse dies for its production. The identification of the dies employed in the production of a particular token are the basis of the standard references and the museum storage system. The dies can be identified as follows:; Obverse AUCKLAND W to line A under D under Other; A 17.8 mm 2.0 mm M NT Die chipped above RE of RETAIL; B 19.5 mm 2.0 mm M T E of IRONMONGER & A of MERCHANT re-entered; C 18.0 mm 1.5 mm ME NT D of AUCKLAND re-entered also die cracked under D; D 19.3 mm 1.0 mm M NT Edge chipped 08 to 10; E 20.8 mm 1.6 mm M T die cracked E & RETAIL; F 19.5 mm 0.8 mm M NT A of AUCKLAND RE-ENTERED edge chipped 06 & 08; G ? ? M T Reported by George Dean further details needed; Reverse After 1819 P of PRINCE to B of BORN
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked single-object source. Wider type attribution and authenticity have not been independently verified.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type and source attribution against specialist references.