Convict Love Token - Undated - Birmingham Bill
The character and engraving of this coin suggest a link with the 1844 token for William Holmes, alias Dublin Bill.
Transcription
Back
Token made from the head of an 1806 halfpenny with a decorative engraved border. The King’s head has been re-engraved as a caricature of a man in chains. Around the head, in stippled cursive text with some decorative flourishes, runs the name:
Birmingham Bill
Front
Token made from the reverse of a halfpenny. At top and bottom, left and right, a decoration in the shape of a deep ‘v’ has been scored into the border of the coin. Around the figure of Britannia runs the stippled cursive text (from bottom left):
Forget .. mee .. Not
M[y]
The shield has been engraved with stippling, and there are some letters at the base:
[o no]
Diameter
29.0 mm
Copyright: National Museum of Australia
