Tokens of Love, Loss and Disrespect
Coins and tokens from the 18th and early 19th centuries were frequently repurposed to communicate private and public messages – from ad hoc scratchings and punch marks to full-scale re-engraving of surfaces. They are often enigmatic objects, and this book offers a means of decoding them and reveals their value as a distinctive source of historical evidence.
Drawing on a major collection of coins and tokens, this publication brings together the full range of expertise required to understand the practice. It focuses on a significant period in British history, when the modification of coins expressed political commentary, commercial activity, familial and emotional commitment, personal identity and life history. It examines the coins and tokens themselves and looks at who modified them, where, how and why.
Edited by Sarah Lloyd
January 2023
Paperback, 220 x 188 mm
360 pages, approx. 900 illustrations
ISBN: 978-1-911300-94-6
Contributors
Timothy Millett, Antiquarian Coin and Medal dealer; Tim Hitchcock, Professor of Digital History, University of Sussex; Susan Whyman, Princeton University; Steve Poole, Professor of History and Heritage, University of the West of England; Sally Holloway, Early Career Researcher, Oxford Brookes University; Katrina Navickas, Reader in History, University of Hertfordshire; Joe Cozens, Early Career Scholar, UCL; Hamish Maxwell-Stewart, Professor of Social History, University of Tasmania; Graham Dyer, Senior Research Curator, Royal Mint Museum; Gary Oddie, Collector; Brian Maidment, Professor of History, Liverpool John Moores University
In the press
"With 17 essays by coin experts, collectors, historians and the cartoonist Martin Rowson, collated into five parts covering subjects like “Love and Memory”, “Politics” and “Image and Representation”, it is also a plea for these scraps of metal to be taken more seriously." – The Art Newspaper
"the volume considers the histories behind many of these mementoes and the unofficial or subversive purposes they served" – Antique Trade Gazette
"the essays in this volume demonstrate the significance of coin engraving as an important material source for studies on British politics and society in the long-eighteenth century... The design of the book is attractive and it is edited and printed to a high standard. The final word must go to the images, which are magnificent..." – British Numismatic Journal