The Collection of Wiltshire Coins, Tokens and Paranumismatica formed by the late David Ward

Miscellaneous Tokens and Checks, Melksham, F[rederick] Jeffery, Promissory Halfpence, 1972 (2), silver and bronze [by Toye, Kenning & Spencer], both 29mm, wooden Farthing, 1966, illegal tender for any amount, 39mm (Greenaway 1196); N[ational] School, uniface nickel, 26mm (cf. Greenaway 1181); Spencer & Co Ltd, uniface brass, stamped 218, 32mm; Spencer (Melksham) Ltd, uniface brass, stamped 1037, 32mm, rectangular brass, stamped 648, 28mm [7]. First brilliant and rare, second extremely fine, third very fine but numbers inked on obverse, others fine to very fine £70-£90

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Wiltshire Coins, Tokens and Paranumismatica formed by the late David Ward.

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Provenance: Sixth bt May 2018; last bt September 2012.

Frederick James Jeffery (1907-78), who styled himself as ‘England’s leading provincial coin dealer’, started dealing in coins in 1932. Popularly known as ‘Uncle Fred’ (though not to be confused with Fred Baldwin who also shared the same sobriquet), Jeffery was the first English dealer to regularly attend the American Numismatic Association’s annual convention. His open-style marketing methods and his vast stock ensured that he was well known and he was a fervent supporter of local numismatic societies, often travelling vast distances to a meeting with an estate car laden down with coins and sets to sell to members. His metallic tokens commemorate his 40th year in a business that is carried on today by his son, Richard Jonathan Jeffery; the tokens themselves were struck by Toye Kenning & Spencer in 1973, a decision prompted by the same manufacturer having struck the Wessex Numismatic Society’s Silver Jubilee medal earlier that year, Jeffery being then a prominent member of that Society. Fred Jeffery’s wooden farthing, of which 5,000 were made, was distributed at the 1966 ANA convention in Chicago