Item number: A4733

Reference number: DH#336; Atkins#235b

Year: AD 1795

Material: Bronze

Size: 29.1 x 29.1 x 1.2 mm

Weight: 7.45 g

Provenance: Auction World 2026

This is a trade token issued by Heslop’s curiosity shop. Such commercial tokens were first systematically catalogued in AD 1798 by the numismatist James Conder, and are consequently also designated as ‘Conder tokens’. On the basis of its dimensions and fabric, its denomination is that of a halfpenny.

The obverse of the token depicts the contortionist Joseph Clark in an eccentric posture, balancing on his right foot with his left leg raised vertically and his right index finger pointing upwards, accompanied by an ape mimicking his stance. Circumscribed above is the English legend ‘CAN YOU DO SO’. The composition derives from an engraving in The Cryes of the City of London, published by Marcellus Laroon in AD 1688. Towards the lower right, there appears to be a signature reading ‘T . col . f .’, representing the Latin T col fecit (‘made by T col’), though specific details regarding this mark remain undetermined.

Across the centre of the reverse, the horizontal legend reads ‘THE FIRST SHOP IN LONDON FOR NATURAL CURIOSITYS PAINTINGS, COINS COLOURS FOR ARTISTS &c’, signifying that the premises was London’s premier establishment dealing in natural curiosities, paintings, coins, and artists’ pigments. Encircling the rim is the inscription ‘R · HESLOP No. 86 CHISWELL STREET FINSBURY SQUARE’, denoting the location of Robert Heslop’s premises at No. 86 Chiswell Street, Finsbury Square.

The edge of the token is plain and displays a naturally rounded contour, indicating that it was struck without a collar to confine the blank’s outer diameter, thereby allowing the metal to expand freely outwards under vertical compression.

Little is recorded today concerning the proprietor Robert Heslop. Nevertheless, curiosity shops of this genre typically operated across several overlapping markets, encompassing natural history specimens, fine art supplies, numismatics, and antiquities, with the dealer fulfilling the dual role of connoisseur-collector and commercial broker. Originating in the earlier tradition of the ‘cabinet of curiosities’, such establishments transitioned from aristocratic private domains to the wider public and the commercial market following the ascent of the middle classes during the eighteenth century. In London, they gradually evolved into urban spaces that synthesised visual entertainment, scholarly discourse, and retail trade. The minting of copper tokens inscribed with the firm’s name and specialisms constituted a conventional promotional device deployed by curiosity dealers to establish their reputation and attract collectors as well as the urban public.

The widespread emergence of privately minted subsidiary currency was precipitated by the acute small-change crisis that afflicted Britain during the late eighteenth century. Because the fixed manufacturing costs of subsidiary coinage were excessively high relative to its nominal face value, the striking of low-denomination copper coins yielded negligible profit for the official mint, while genuine pieces remained vulnerable to being melted down for illicit counterfeiting. This resulted in an extreme dearth of low-value circulating medium required for daily retail transactions. Under a policy of governmental laissez-faire, numerous private merchants and commercial enterprises resorted to issuing their own tokens to maintain retail liquidity. It was not until AD 1817, following advancements in steam power, refined coining techniques, and reduced production costs, that the state formally reasserted its exclusive prerogative over the issuance of subsidiary coinage.

物件編號: A4733

參考書目編號: DH#336; Atkins#235b

年代: 公元 1795 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 29.1 x 29.1 x 1.2 mm

重量: 7.45 g

來源: Auction World 2026

這是一枚赫斯洛普奇珍商店所發行的貿易代幣（trade tokens）。這些貿易代幣在公元1798年由錢幣學家詹姆斯·康德（James Conder）首次系統性的整理，故也稱為「康德代幣」（Conder tokens）。依其大小形制，幣值為半便士。

代幣正面描繪了一位姿勢怪異的柔軟體操表演者（Contortionist）喬瑟夫·克拉克（Joseph Clark），他右腳單腳站立、左腿垂直舉起且右手指向上方，身旁則有一隻模仿其姿勢的猴子，上方環列英文「CAN YOU DO SO」，即「你能做到嗎？」。構圖源自馬塞勒斯·拉倫（Marcellus Laroon）於公元1688年出版的版畫作品《倫敦之聲》。右下方似乎有署名「T . col . f .」，即拉丁文的「由 T col 所製」，詳情不明。

代幣背面中央橫列「THE FIRST SHOP IN LONDON FOR NATURAL CURIOSITYS PAINTINGS, COINS COLOURS FOR ARTISTS &c」，表明該店是倫敦第一家販售自然奇觀、畫作、錢幣及藝術家顏料的商店。沿幣緣則環列「R · HESLOP No. 86 CHISWELL STREET FINSBURY SQUARE」，則表明羅伯特·赫斯洛普的店鋪所位於的芬斯伯里廣場奇斯威爾街86號。

代幣邊緣光素，呈自然的圓弧，代表其壓鑄時未以環模限制胚餅外徑，因此幣胚受垂直衝壓時金屬自由向外延展。

當代對經銷商羅伯特·赫斯洛普所知不多，但這種｢奇珍異寶商店｣（Curiosity Shop）的形式，經營範圍通常跨越自然歷史標本、美術用品、古錢幣與古董等多個重疊市場，經銷商則身兼收藏家與商業經紀人的雙重身分。這類珍奇商店發源自早期的「珍奇櫃」（Cabinet of Curiosities）文化，在18世紀中產階級興起後由貴族的私藏走向大眾及市場，並在倫敦逐漸演變成結合展覽娛樂、學術交流與商業買賣的城市空間。而發行帶有店名與經營項目的銅製代幣，成為珍奇商建立店鋪聲譽、吸引收藏家與都市大眾造訪的常見行銷手段。

而私人鑄行小額輔幣的泛濫，則肇因於公元18世紀末英國嚴重的輔幣短缺危機。由於鑄造小額輔幣的固定成本相對於其面值過高，官方造幣廠發行低面額銅幣缺乏利潤，且容易被銷毀盜鑄，導致市場上用於日常零售交易的小額貨幣極度匱乏。在政府放任（Laissez-faire）政策下，大量私營商人和店鋪，為了維持商業交易運作，選擇自行鑄造代幣充當流通貨幣。至公元1817年，才透過蒸汽機技術的進步、壓鑄技術與成本的降低，正式將小額輔幣發行收歸國有。