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1794 AE Halfpenny, Emsworth, Hampshire.
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Obverse: EARL HOWE & THE GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE. "Youthful" bust of Earl Howe, wearing tricorn hat and with hair in long pigtail tied with a ribbon, facing left.
Reverse: RULE BRITANNIA. Britannia facing left, seated on globe, her right hand holding spear, her left arm holding laurel-branch and resting on shield at her side; in exergue, 1794.
Edge: “PAYABLE AT LONDON LIVERPOOL OR BRISTOL •.
Diameter: 29mm.
Dalton & Hamer: 13
During the 18th and 19th centuries Emsworth was a busy little port, known for shipbuilding, boat building and rope making. Grain from the area was ground into flour by tidal mills at Emsworth and the flour was then transported by ship to places like London and Portsmouth. Timber from the area was also exported from Emsworth in the 18th and 19th centuries.
This token was probably issued by John Stride, a grocer and tea dealer with a business in Emsworth, and the dies were likely engraved by Thomas Wyon. The token was probably manufactured by Peter Kempson at his mint in Birmingham.
These 18th century tokens are often generically referred to as “Conder” tokens, the name originating from James Conder, a linen draper from Tavern Street in Ipswich. Conder was an ardent collector of tokens and the author of the standard work on the subject until it was superseded by that of Atkins in 1892.
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, Knight of the Garter and Admiral of the Fleet was born on 8th March, 1726. He was a British naval officer notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. He died on the 5th of August, 1799.
The Glorious First of June, 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between Britain and the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. The British, under Admiral Lord Howe, attempted to prevent the passage of a vital grain convoy from the United States, which was protected by the French fleet commanded by Vice-Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse. The two forces clashed in the Atlantic Ocean, some 400 nautical miles west of the French island of Ushant, on the first of June 1794. During the battle both fleets were so severely damaged that both Howe and Villaret were compelled to return to their home ports. Both sides claimed victory and the outcome of the battle was seized upon by the press of both nations as a demonstration of the prowess and bravery of their respective navies.
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