TOKEN

A Late Medieval lead alloy cross and pellets token, London series, AD1425-1490. The obverse has a eight petalled flower in the central field surrounded by a border of oblique rays. The reverse has a central short cross pattee with a ring and dot in each angle surrounded by a border of oblique rays. The oblique rays run in a clockwise direction upon both faces suggesting a London rather than Paris origin. Mitchiner and Skinner (1984:94) write "a significant number of 'cross and pellets' tokens have been recovered alongside coins of Henry VII, suggesting that they remained in use until the beginning of the sixteenth century. But as these tokens barely entered the phase of renewed use of tin it is unlikely that the actual manufacture of 'cross and pellets' tokens lasted beyond about 1490." The token has a direct parallel in Mitchiner and Skinner (1984:95, No.25) The token has at one time been folded in half and at a later date unfolded, leaving a ridged crease on the reverse and a groove on the obverse.

Dimensions: diameter: 12.07mm; weight: 0.58g

Mitchiner and Skinner (1984:94) write "All 'cross and pellets' tokens so far inspected (English provenance) show the ray border orientated in the same direction on both obverse and reverse of the specimen. But several specimens illustrated by Forgeais (Paris provenance) show different orientations of the ray border on obverse and reverse.

The dominant series of 'cross and pellets' tokens bears a dot-in-circle in each angle of the cross and typically has a clockwise ray border and also expanded ends to the arms of the cross. Diverging from this standard form one can observe a number of variants. Tokens bearing a single dot in each angle of the cross normally have an anti-clockwise ray border and a cross with straight arms. Tokens made of pewter, a late characteristic, also all have an anti-clockwise ray border. This anti-clockwise form of ray border which is, so far as one can judge, a late evolutionary form also occurs on nearly all tokens which have three pellets in each angle of the cross. One should emphasise that although these observations may help to define evolutionary tendencies, they do not demarcate any exclusive class of token."

References: Mitchiner, M. and Skinner, A. 1984. English Tokens C.1425 - 1672. In Challis, C. and Blackburn, M. The British Numismatic Journal Volume 54 1985.

Numismatic data

No numismatic data has been recorded for this coin yet.