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1/2 Penny - Halifax
| Issuer | Nova Scotia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1815 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Copper |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A full-rigged three-masted sailing vessel under sail, depicted sailing to the right across a stylized sea, rendered in fine detail with furled and billowing sails, rigging, and hull clearly articulated. The ship occupies the majority of the central field, surrounded by a beaded border. The legend HALIFAX curves along the lower periphery beneath the vessel, identifying the colonial port city for which this token was issued. |
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| Reverse lettering | HALIFAX |
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| Additional information |
Nova Scotia's pre-Confederation copper tokens exist in a chaotic web of private and semi-official issues, but this piece occupies a specific administrative moment: Halifax's chronic shortage of small change in the years following the War of 1812 drove local merchants and the colonial government alike to authorize copper circulation outside the formal imperial coinage system. London showed little interest in supplying fractional copper to the Maritime colonies, leaving the gap to be filled locally.
Breton 889 is among the better-documented Halifax pieces, with die linkages studied by Canadian token specialists since the nineteenth century.