Convict Love Token - 1820 - William Henry Standford
William Henry Stanford, 20, was tried and convicted in April 1820 for forging and circulating counterfeit banknotes. Having pleaded guilty, Stanford attempted to persuade the court of his genuine and misrepresented character. However, eyewitness accounts of his extravagant lifestyle over the previous months and a previous conviction were not in his favour. Despite his youth, he was sentenced to death.
Transcription
Back
Token with a zigzag border and cursive text:
Wm Hy Stanford
Newgate
Found Guilty of
Forgery
April, 28th,
1820
Front
Token with a zigzag border and a crossed heart at the base of seven lines of cursive text.
He Suffered
in this World, in
the hope of forgiveness
in the next and the
pleasing Blessed
…… hope of ……
Immortality.
Diameter
36.0 mm
Copyright: National Museum of Australia
