Weekend Hunts – Halfpenny’s & Pocket watch face.

[ANTIQUARIAN]

On Saturday, I went back to a site I hit last weekend and found a ‘holed' c1837 Lower Canada ‘Montreal Agriculture & Commerce' Halfpenny Token. I also found a tombac flat button and what I feel is the fancy lead top to a tobacco tin.

“This token was minted back in 1837, before Canada became a federation. The government did not supply enough coinage to support commerce, so the banks filled the gap with small denomination pieces like this one. They were struck during the rebellion of Robert Nelson and Louis-Joseph Papineau against the British. It is called a bouquet token for obvious reasons. There are several different variations in pattern, but the wreath and bouquet of flowers is on all of them. Some variations replace TOKEN with BANQUE DU PEUPLE.”


On Sunday, I headed back to the site where I was last weekend and found what I feel is an 1812 'Thomas Halliday' - Halfpenny Token. I also found a pocket watch face and five more aluminum tree tags. I feel these probably date to the early part of the 20thc. I have included a pic of how many tree tags I’ve found here since 2014.

“Nowhere in British North America did the private copper tokens issued by merchants and others have a more fascinating evolutionary history than in Lower Canada - now Quebec. In the 1820s and 1830s, trade in Montreal, the colony's commercial centre, created a strong demand for coinage. As coins were often in short supply, privately produced tokens filled the void. Tokens were not legal tender and their circulation was against the law. However, this was little deterrent at a time when legal coins were scarce. The first private coppers were heavy pieces, about the same weight as the penny and halfpenny coins they supplemented. However, by the 1830s the tokens were barely half the weight of the official coins and, at times, were so numerous that people would no longer accept them. Various tricks were therefore resorted to in order to make their circulation possible. One interesting approach was to copy the designs of tokens that had previously been of heavy weight and had enjoyed wide circulation. About 1832 a Montreal grocer named Tiffin issued copper halfpenny tokens. They bore the date 1812 and were imitations of much heavier pieces produced twenty years earlier. The obverse carried a bust of King George III surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves and acorns and the figure of a seated woman representing Commerce was the design on the reverse. The success of Tiffin's venture seems to have encouraged the production, in 1837, of another series of tokens of the "bust and Commerce" design which were also dated 1812. In the latter case, however, the pieces were crudely engraved and were struck in brass.”

Thanks very much for looking and I hope you're all enjoying your Memorial Day weekend!
Dave

 

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[Professor of Engineering]

Very nice hunt, post and display!

 

[CRUSADER]

What was the reason for tree tags? (I know they use them today to plot on maps protected trees, but in the early 1900s?)

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Very nice hunt, post and display!

Thank you as always, I appreciate your support Professor!
Dave

What was the reason for tree tags? (I know they use them today to plot on maps protected trees, but in the early 1900s?)

This is a question I've been asking myself for years Cru. I've only assumed these were tree tags, as it looks like they numbered from 1 - 1000.
They look like they were attached to wood with small round iron nails, as opposed to square nails.

I've found these spread across two sites (200+ acres) that are next to each other, but are divided by a small creek.

I'd love to hear any theories.
Dave

 

[pepperj]

Nicely done on the tokens Dave.
The only thing I might add for the tree tag #'s is that the land was an orchard plot, and they were recording the varieties of say apples for example.

 

[JeffInMass]

Nice finds and excellent pics!

 

[CRUSADER]

Thank you as always, I appreciate your support Professor!
Dave




This is a question I've been asking myself for years Cru. I've only assumed these were tree tags, as it looks like they numbered from 1 - 1000.
They look like they were attached to wood with small round iron nails, as opposed to square nails.

I've found these spread across two sites (200+ acres) that are next to each other, but are divided by a small creek.

I'd love to hear any theories.
Dave

Not really got any theories because if they were numbered shooting positions (which I've seen) for birds, it would not go much above 10!

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Nicely done on the tokens Dave.
The only thing I might add for the tree tag #'s is that the land was an orchard plot, and they were recording the varieties of say apples for example.

Thanks very much for your post and for sharing your theories Jim.
I sure do wish I could find one tag with a makers stamp on it though. at least then I could research for a date range.

I have found a few that appeared to originally have black paint in the numbers.
Dave

Nice finds and excellent pics!

Thanks Jeff, I appreciate your support!

Not really got any theories because if they were numbered shooting positions (which I've seen) for birds, it would not go much above 10!

Interesting theory Cru, I think if they were doing shooting here I would've found a ton of lead shot.
I've been all over this 100+ acre site and have made a lot of interesting, including all of those Isaac Campbell buckles.
Dave