Great Britain 1797 Duke of Bedford Evasion Half Penny with Spence Counterstamps

An interesting evasion (counterfeit) half penny dated 1797. These counterfeits were also known as “imitation regal halfpennies”. Obverse bears right facing portrait with the legend “Duke of Bedford”. Reverse depicts a seated Britannia with a ship behind and the legend “BRITISH TARS”. The date (1797) is in the exergue. The half penny is catalogued by Cobwright as obverse D.0010 and reverse B.0900. These catalogue numbers are supplied by a third party and not confirmed by the author. The obverse has been countermarked with “FULL BELLIES” and the “&” (ampersand) symbol. The reverse is stamped with “SPENCES PLAN” and “YOU ROGUES”.

Thomas Spence was an English revolutionary of the late 18th and early 19th century. Many Conder Tokens were struck by him in his time as a book seller and coin dealer. It is believed that Spence had up to 53 halfpenny and 15 farthing dies which he would mix and match at the request of his customers (Whiting p129). He was a social reformer and radical and center to his beliefs was his “Plan” or “Spence’s Plan”. You can read more about his Plan on Wikipedia. This webpage suggests that many different tokens, half pennies, half penny blanks, and evasion half pennies were countermarked in support of his beliefs and Plan. It is believed that he cut the blanks himself and that he began countermarking these blanks and already minted coins and tokens in about 1797. According to Thompson (p155) countermarks are found predominantly on pieces dated prior to 1797 that are heavily circulated with just a few pieces dated 1797 known. This is one of those pieces.

Coin Information

Reference Number:	X3306/14
Country:	Great Britain
Denomination:	Half Penny
Year:	1797
Grade:	Good

References:
Seaby, P. (1970). British Tokens and their Values . London, UK:B.A. Seaby Ltd. pp195-196
thomasspence.co.uk, accessed 17 June 2014, http://thomas-spence-society.co.uk/index.html
Thompson, R.H. The Dies of Thomas Spence (1750-1814). British Numismatic Journal, vol. 38, pp. 126-162
Whiting, J.R.S. (1971). Trade Tokens: A Social and Economic History, London, UK:David & Charles pp128-130