Description

Union Copper Company Penny, Birmingham, 1812

Date & Origin:

• 1812, Birmingham (England).

Issuer:

• Union Copper Company, a major copper supplier operating during the early 19th century.

Metal / Size:

• Copper, around 35 mm diameter (penny token size).

Obverse:

• Legend: “UNION COPPER COMPANY” around.

• Central motif: usually a clasped hands design (symbolising union/cooperation).

Reverse:

• Legend: “ONE PENNY TOKEN” and the date 1812.

• Design: Often shows a coining press or symbolic industrial machinery.

Edge:

• Typically engraved with lettering such as PAYABLE AT … (varieties exist depending on distribution).

References:

• Catalogued in Dalton & Hamer under Warwickshire penny tokens.

• Also appears in Davis’ 19th Century Token Coinage listings.

Historical background

• Issued during the token boom of 1811–1812, when the Royal Mint could not keep up with the need for small change.

• Birmingham was a centre of metalworking and token production (mints like Heaton, Kempson, Lutwyche).

• The Union Copper Company likely issued these both as a way to pay workers and as an advertising piece — accepted locally in trade.