Token - 1 Penny, Mason, Struthers & Co, Ironmongers, Christchurch, New Zealand, circa 1872

Search the collections

Where is it from?

Similar items over time

1871
1871
1871
1871
1872
1873
1873
1873
1873

Summary:: Copper One Penny Token, minted by Stokes & Martin, Melbourne. Issued by Mason, Struthers & Co, Ironmongers, Christchurch, New Zealand, circa 1872. The reverse die used for this token was cut by Julius Hogarth. Mason and Struthers was the business name used by partners Frederick Mason and Robert Struthers from 1878 to 1899, when they ran an ironmongery business in Christchurch, New Zealand. The company continued to trade at that address in various forms until at least 1950. The partnership was dissolved in 1899 when Mason came to Australia to promote the Deering reaping and binding machine, and Struthers continued the business on his own. He sold it in 1903 and lived out the rest of his life in his home in Christchurch.

Standard References: Andrews 355 = Heyde 162/2 = Lampard 330a
Description:: A round copper token (31 mm diameter). The token features the name and business of the issuer: Mason Struthers & Co. wholesale & retail Ironmongers. The reverse features a profile bust of a Maori. This token has been cleaned and holed.
Acquisition Information:: Transfer from Melbourne Branch of Royal Mint, 1978

Discipline:	Numismatics
Dimensions:	31 mm (Diameter)
Weight:	9.484 g (Weight)
Dimension Comment:	holed

More information

Tagged with:	ironmongers, maori culture, maoris
Themes this item is part of:	Mason, Struthers & Co., Ironmongers, Christchurch, New Zealand, Julius Hogarth, Jeweller & Medal Maker (1820-1879), Numismatics & Philately Collection, Working Life & Trades Collection, Royal Mint, Melbourne Branch, Melbourne, Victoria, Hogarth, Erichsen & Co., Jewellers, Sydney, New South Wales, Stokes & Son, Medal Makers, Melbourne, Victoria & Sydney, New South Wales, Branch Mints of the Royal Mint, Deputy Masters of the Melbourne Branch of the Royal Mint, Closure of Melbourne Mint, Melbourne Mint during World War II, Establishment of Melbourne Mint, 1872, Melbourne Mint
Primary Classification:	TRADE TOKENS
Secondary Classification:	New Zealand
Tertiary Classification:	working strikes
Series:	Trade Tokens
DateEra:	circa 1872 AD
Denomination:	1 Penny
Obverse Description:	At centre within lin circle, WHOLESALE / AND / RETAIL / IRONMONGERS around above, MASON STRUTHERS & CO around below in small letters, STOKES & MARTIN MELBOURNE
Reverse Description:	Bust of Maori facing right, around ONE PENNY TOKEN, on the bust in small letters the artist's initials IH.
Edge Description:	Plain
Inscriptions:	Obverse: MASON STRUTHERS & Co WHOLESALE AND RETAIL IRONMONGERS STOKES & MARTIN MELBOURNE Reverse: ONE PENNY TOKEN IH
Shape:	Round
Material:	Bronze
Issued By:	Mason, Struthers & Co, Ironmongers, Christchurch, Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand, circa 1872
Mint:	Stokes & Martin, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1872
Artist:	Julius Hogarth, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, circa 1872
Previous Collection:	Royal Mint, Melbourne Branch
References:	Two obverse dies and one reverse were employed to manufacture this issue. Die identification ids the basis of standard references and the museum storage. Obverse O of WHOLESALE A below S B below T The following die combinations have been recorded: A/1, B/1 (this token)
Bibliography:	[Book], Dr Arthur Andrews, Australasian Tokens and Coins, Trustees of the Mitchell Library, Sydney, Sydney, 1921, No. 355 [Book], Dion Skinner - Renniks & Co Pty Ltd, Gilbert Heyde, Unofficial Coins of Colonial Australia and New Zealand, 1967, No. 162/2 [Book], William Lampard, Catalogue of New Zealand Coins Tokens Bank Notes, Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand Incorporated, Wellington, 1981, No. 330a [Book], Vaughn Humberstone, Merchants Making Money, 2010