Token, Store
Production date
1866
Description
A copper token for Brown and Duthie. The obverse features an exaggerated profile of Mount Egmont / Taranaki. " TARANAKI / 1866 " is written under it. " BROWN AND DUTHIE / BROUGHAM STREET / WHOLESALE / & RETAIL / IRONMONGERS " is written on the reverse.
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Object detail
Production date
1866
Classification
Credit line
The
supply
of
money
during
the
early
part
of
the
nineteenth
century
was
far
less
certain
than
it
is
today.
The
Government
did
not
consider
it
was
their
responsibility
to
ensure
that
there
was
an
adequate
supply
of
coins,
they
believed
that
function
belonged
to
the
banks.
One
solution
that
was
tried
was
for
individual
merchants
to
issue
their
own
tokens,
usually
with
a
face
value
of
a
penny
or
halfpenny.
These
had
the
advantage
of
being
relatively
cheap
to
produce
as
production
costs
were
below
nominal
face
value,
and
they
were
often
lost
or
never
presented.
They
also
worked
as
a
valuable
means
of
advertising
the
business.
A
number
of
New
Zealand
merchants
produced
their
own
tokens
between
1857
and
1881,
among
them
four
New
Plymouth
firms.
Brown
and
Duthie,
an
ironmongery
firm
that
operated
in
Brougham
Street,
New
Plymouth,
issued
this
token
in
1866.
It
was
discovered
in
Wanganui
before
being
donated
to
Taranaki
Museum.
Accession number
A84.581
Collection type
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