The heavily worn coin in my possession, a traders’ token, has been handed down through four generations. Who knows how many pockets it has lined or how many times it was traded.
Until it was discovered that there was a familial link to the coin, it was deemed to be just a curious piece of Fremantle’s history.
Why Were Traders’ Tokens Made?
Never officially recognised, the need for trader tokens arose due to the chronic shortage of small denomination coinage, and the inability of government mints to keep pace with the rapidly growing economy. The tokens were given as change between traders and customers, in place of official currency, on the understanding that they could be redeemed for official coinage if required. They could be accepted or rejected at the customer’s choice. Throughout Australia, 124 colonial businesses used tokens.
The token was minted for Fremantle Pawnbroker, John Henderson, a Scottish ex-convict transported to Australia for burglary. He ran a pawnbroking business on Pakenham Street and had the tokens minted due to a shortage of low-denominational coinage available in Western Australia. It also provided advertising for the business as a constant reminder in customer’s purses.
Where Were Trader Tokens Made?
The token was minted in 1874 by Stokes & Martin of Melbourne. Thomas Stokes had taken Martin as partner four years earlier. Before this, Stokes purchased a British-made coining press and mill from Melbourne medallist, William Taylor, in 1862, which allowed him to make thin copper sheets used to mass-press tokens for retailers. This was a lot easier compared to some previous businesses that resorted to individually sawing off blanks from a copper rod.
At least two separate mints of the Henderson token occurred in 1874, one using copper for the coins and the other bronze, an alloy of copper and tin. The material was probably changed owing to a depressed copper market, which saw minimal imports to Australia.
A third mint in bronze occurred in 1878. In this design, the date ‘1874’ is replaced with the words ‘One Penny Token’.
Only two traders’ tokens were ever minted in Western Australia, the other belonging to Alfred Davies, also a pawnbroker, who minted his with Thomas Stokes in 1865 and featured a large swan on its reverse. The 1878 Henderson token was the last traders’ token to be minted in Australia.
What Building is on the Henderson Token?
The identity of the Georgian building that graces the reverse of the Henderson coin has long been unknown by numismatic authorities and museums alike. It was only after listening to an oral history recording by the Battye Library, interviewing Fremantle resident Elsie Conway, it was discovered that the building is in fact the Welsh Harp Inn, previously located on the corner of Pakenham and Collie Street.
The Inn was managed by Elsie’s father, Edwin Tonkin, and she recalls in the oral history recording that the likeness of the Inn, where she lived as a child, appeared on a handful of Fremantle pennies belonging to her father. So it’s possible that the token in my family’s possession may have had the hole drilled in it for Edwin to wear with pride on his fob watch chain.
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After realising the connection to my family, the coin has become an important family heirloom in the fact that the engraved building is the only known image of the Welsh Harp Inn, which was demolished in 1898. It is the building where my great-grandfather was born and raised, in an area that I still frequently pass while in Fremantle.
A Lengthy Numastic Description of the Token
The smooth-edged copper coin, 31mm in diameter, 2mm thick and weighing 10.244 grams reveals on its obverse side a centred coat of arms, a variation of the Australian arms, showing a crest flanked by a kangaroo on the left and an emu on the right. A swan appears above the crest which is quartered by a cross with a smaller cross in the middle. A star sits in the middle of the smaller cross and also a star at the end of each arm of the larger cross, perhaps representing the Southern Cross constellation or the 5 colonies of Australia.
Clockwise in each quarter is a sheep’s fleece, a chaff of wheat, a crossed pick & spade and a sailing ship, representing the industries of wool, agriculture, mining and maritime trade. Underneath the crest is a spray of rose, thistle and shamrock, a nod to the United Kingdom. In a ribbon flowing underneath the coat of arms, are the words ‘Tandem Movetur’, Latin for ‘finally moved’, although the phrase in the pre-Federation era was commonly used to imply progress.
A beaded ring circles the edge of the coin. The name ‘John Henderson’ is written in a half circle on top. The word ‘Pawnbroker’ follows the lower portion of the beaded ring. Minutely written along the inner side of the beaded ring are ‘Stokes & Martin’ on the left and ‘Melbourne’ on the right.
On the reverse side of the coin is another beaded ring along its edge, followed by a smaller solid ring. Between them is written ‘Packenham Street’ (sic) along the top. On the lower half, are the words ‘Freemantle W.A.’ (sic). Pakenham and Fremantle have been misspelt on the coin and some coins from the first round of minting, also feature a double F. The original steel die used to mint the coins shows that the first F has been rubbed off.3 Inside the inner ring, are the words ‘One Penny Token’. A Georgian-style building with a Captain’s Walk and flag mast on the roof features in the middle. Underneath the building is written ‘1874’.
The Genetic Arborist 