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COIN
Unique ID: FAKL-8F504D
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
Silver coin bent to form a 'love token'. Its surface has been smoothed leaving no trace of the impressed design but the module would be appropriate for a sixpence of late seventeenth to early nineteen century date, The coin was bent and then straightened, but traces of the two folds can be seen. This object is one of three 'love tokens' found on these fields. Diameter 20.6mm, Mass 1.70g
'Love tokens' were made using coins dating from the time of Elizabeth I (1558-1603) to the reign of Ann (1702-1714) with a few Georgian examples. They were particularly common in the reign of William III (1694-1702). They are not uncommon finds but their significance is not understood. While 'love tokens' should be inscribed with the name of the person loved most of these defaced coins are uninscribed. Bending coins as part of an oath is an ancient practice but did not involve them being defaced. These coins may have been carried as good-luck charms but few of them are perforated for suspension, the usual way of wearing a charm. The writer has seen an account of silver coins being added to a churn to aid the forming of butter but has been unable to verify this. Certainly, the double fold would prevent it from sticking to the side of the churn. These objects should be seen as an unexplained folk practice dating to the late sixteenth to early eighteenth centuries.
Class: Love Token
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MODERN
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: MODERN
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: MODERN
Date from: Circa AD 1694
Date to: Circa AD 1714
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Weight: 1.7 g
Diameter: 20.6 mm
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: Birm 561
Materials and construction
Primary material: Silver
Completeness: Complete
Numismatic data
No numismatic data has been recorded for this coin yet.
Coin references
No coin references available.
Spatial metadata
Region: West Midlands (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Staffordshire (County)
District: Stafford (District)
Parish or ward: Eccleshall (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SJ8527
Four figure Latitude: 52.84029941
Four figure longitude: -2.22412774
1:25K map: SJ8527
1:10K map: SJ82NE
Grid reference source: Centred on field
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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Timeline of associated dates
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