Issued by the Priestfield Collieries & Furnaces of Samuel Fereday (Bilston, Staffordshire)
Obverse: Legend in four lines within double border.
Legend: ONE PENNY PAYABLE BY / A ONE POUND NOTE FOR 240 TOKENS
Reverse: Legend in four lines.
Legend: SAMUEL FEREDAY BILSTON.
From the 17th to the early 19th century in the British Isles and North America trade tokens were commonly issued by merchants in times of acute shortage of coins of the state to enable trading activities to proceed. The token was in effect a pledge redeemable in goods but not necessarily for currency. These tokens never received official sanction from government but were accepted and circulated quite widely.
Bilston is a town in the English county of West Midlands, situated in the southeastern corner of the City of Wolverhampton.
Reference: D 44, Withers 60.
Material: Copper
Diameter: 36 mm