101569 | GREAT BRITAIN. Stippled male portrait engraved gilt copper Halfpenny.

101569 | GREAT BRITAIN. Stippled male portrait engraved gilt copper Halfpenny (24mm, 3.57 g, 12h).

 

874-1894 Victorian halfpenny, with engraving upon reverse: Male portrait facing slightly left, in highly ornate and lifelike stippled pattern; signed "BY E. YEARSLEY" to right. Edge: Plain.

 

Cf. KM 754 (for host coin). Engraving: Choice Very Fine; Host coin: Fair. Gilt. Superb artistry that is about as attractive as one can find.

 

Compare to a similar work by the same hand, which we previously sold here: https://www.numismagram.com/product-page/101450.

 

Being borrowed from the early 18th century practice in Great Britain, and being related to even earlier forms of engraving on European coinage, "love tokens" were an extremely popular form of sentimental art that saw their high point in the United States in the mid-to-late-19th century, whereby coinage was smoothed down on one or both sides, and some form of initials, a message, and/or imagery was engraved so that it may be presented to a loved one. The most commonly encountered 'canvas' in the United States was the dime, and usually one from the Seated Liberty series. At their height, the U.S. Mint blamed an alleged shortage of dimes—a staple of most late-19th century transactions—on this craze. Rising again in the early-mid 20th century during the depths of despair that were the world wars, this form of coin art, usually referred to in this context as "trench art," would see another revival, offering soldiers a brief chance at escapism through sentimental creativity.

 

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