E. De Carle & Co - Merchants
Description
Edward De Carle was a successful Melbourne businessman who moved to Dunedin in the early 1860s. De Carle issued several varieties of tokens in Melbourne, both in his own name, and as a part of the partnership Hide & De Carle.
Williams and Sutherland state that his tokens were issued in Dunedin in 1862. At this time they report his address to have been 22 Princes Street South. They also include a copy of a letter he had published in the Dunedin Daily Telegraph on 18 February 1863, in which he repudiated his tokens as pennies and called upon the public to only accept them as halfpences:
Caution to the public
(To the editor of the Daily Telegraph)
Sir,-Will you allow me a place in your columns to caution the public against receiving the new tokens, bearing the superscription of E. De Carle & Co., as pennies. In size they are equal to the new English penny and as such were consigned to me from home; but I have sold them at great loss to myself as half-pennies, and as such they should now pass.
I am, Sir,
Yours truly,
E. De Carle.
Williams and Sutherland do not state whether his appeal to the public to respect the terms under which he on-sold his tokens was accepted, but it seems unlikely. They theorise that De Carle may have heard that tokens had been made illegal in Victoria, and he had presumed that the same would happen in New Zealand so he divested himself of the risk by selling his tokens at a discount (Williams and Sutherland, 1950).
E. De Carle & Co - Merchants values and prices
The value of an Australian token depends on several factors such as quality and wear, supply and demand, rarity, finish and more.
- Circulated
- Uncirculated
| Varieties | AG-3 | G-4 | VG-8 | F-12 | VF-20 | EF-40 | AU-50 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse # 1 | - | - | - | $13.30 | $23.30 | $42.90 | $121 |
| Obverse # 2 | - | - | - | $19.50 | $39.00 | $72.50 | $145 |
| Obverse # 3 | - | - | - | $26.40 | $61.60 | $112 | $255 |
| Pattern | - | - | - | - | - | $30,400 | - |
| Varieties | MS-60 | MS-62 | MS-63 | MS-64 | MS-65 | MS-66 | MS-67 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obverse # 1 | $288 | $456 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Obverse # 2 | $435 | $725 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Obverse # 3 | $765 | $1,270 | - | - | - | - | - |
| Pattern | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Varieties
Obverse # 1
Obverse # 2
Obverse # 3
Pattern
Two known pattern exist with portrait of Lord Raglan on the obverse.
Specifications
Obverse # 1
- Issuer: E. De Carle & Co. Merchants
- Mint : Heaton & Sons
- Denomination : Penny
- Composition: Copper
- Die axis: ↑↑
- Weight: 15 grams
- Diameter: 33 mm
- Edge: Smooth
- Renniks #: 116
- Andrews #: 103
- Gray #: 63
Obverse # 2
- Issuer: E. De Carle & Co. Merchants
- Mint : Heaton & Sons
- Denomination : Penny
- Composition: Copper
- Die axis: ↑↑
- Weight: 13.5 grams
- Diameter: 33 mm
- Edge: Smooth
- Renniks #: 114
- Andrews #: 105
- Gray #: 65
Obverse # 3
- Issuer: E. De Carle & Co. Merchants
- Mint : Pope, T. & Co.
- Denomination : Penny
- Composition: Copper
- Die axis: ↑↑
- Weight: 15.5 grams
- Diameter: 33 mm
- Edge: Smooth
- Renniks #: 115
- Andrews #: 104
- Gray #: 64
Pattern
- Mint : W.J.Taylor
- Denomination : Penny
- Composition: Copper
- Die axis: ↑↑
- Diameter: 34 mm
- Renniks #: 117
Last update : Saturday, December 19, 2020
