Communion token, Edinburgh, 1864
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1864
Communion token in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number M.10-2007), made in Edinburgh, dated 1864. The museum's brief description reads: Communion token, tinned iron, possibly made in Edinburgh, dated 1864..
Museum description: Rectangular token, tinned iron with, on both sides, border of raised dots with scrolls at the corners enclosing raised text. The museum records it as Tinned iron, measuring Length 2.8 cm; Width 2 cm; Depth 1.5 mm. These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Communion tokens were used in nonconformist churches and the Presbyterian church of Scotland to identify the bearer as an individual who understood and abided by that churches' teachings. Communion could not be taken without presenting a token. The large numbers of people who went to chapels and meeting houses in the Victorian period would not have had such tokens but attended as "Hearers" to listen to the service.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- iron, tin
- Dimensions
- Length 2.8 cm; Width 2 cm; Depth 1.5 mm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Tinned iron
- Place recorded
- Edinburgh
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- Inscribed: on one side "TRINITY FREE CHURCH CHARLOTTE STREET,1864" on the other, "THIS DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME I COR XI. 24"
Identification
- Museum object name
- Communion token
- Museum object number
- M.10-2007
- Museum system number
- O138791
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, maker and date against a specialist reference.