Convict Love Token - 1834 - Josh Smale
It is likely that this token relates to Joseph Smales, 27, who was tried and convicted at London Gaol Delivery on 20 February 1834 for stealing 17 sheep. He was sentenced to transportation for life. Smales sailed for Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) on the George III on 12 December 1834. The ship was wrecked in the mouth of the Derwent River on 12 April 1835, and Smales was listed as one of the 134 people who drowned.
Transcription
Back
Token engraved with decorative stippled embellishments of flowers and leaves, and stippled text:
a gift by
Josh Smale
Feby 20 1834
Front
Token engraved with eight lines of stippled text; the first and last lines curving around the edge of the token:
When this you see
Remember.me
. And . bear . me .
. In . your . mind .
. Let . all th[e] . world
. Say . what [th]ey will
. Speak . of . me .
As you find
Diameter
36.0 mm
Copyright: National Museum of Australia