BRITISH 18TH CENTURY TOKENS, ENGLAND, Skidmore, Copper Halfpenny mule, obv shield of arms between laurel branches, date 17 91 divided by the shield, HALFPENNY above, rev bust of David Garrick left, DAVID GARRICK ESQ.R around, edge milled (D&H Worcestershire 26). A few spots and small area of corrosion on the obverse, otherwise good extremely fine and exceedingly rare, untraced by D&H and currently the only example known.
Founded by John Skidmore (1748-1823) and later joined by his second son, Paul (b. 1775) in 1795 or 1796. They carried on an iron-foundry and held the appointment of stovegrate maker to His Majesty's Board of Ordnance. The company produced numerous tokens, ultimately responsible for more than a quarter of all the token varieties produced in the late 18th Century, including those issued by Matthew Denton, Thomas Prattent, and Thomas Spence.
Estimate: £200-300