17th Century Tokens from the Collection of the late Stephen Wrenn

Stephen Wrenn

Steve was born at West Wickham, Kent, on 13 December 1937, the youngest of three brothers. When World War II broke out their father was called up and their mother left to care for the boys. Inevitably their home was bomb-damaged and the family was relocated to Belper, Derbyshire, where the boys settled and integrated with schools and local sport in the community.
After attending Herbert Strutt Grammar School and serving an apprenticeship in the printing industry, National Service was the next step and Steve joined the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards. On being posted to Germany he realised that to avoid the parade ground it was useful to excel at sport and so discovered that he could run. For the rest of his service he represented the Grenadiers Athletic Team, travelling all over Europe.

Following National Service Steve returned to his printing career at R.B. Macmillan of Derby and family life. At Macmillans he took up lithographic printing in two colours before progressing to four colours at Chromoworks at Nottingham. It became obvious that Steve had developed an allergy to chemicals in the printing process and a change of career was needed. He applied for the position of print buyer with Fisons Pharmaceuticals at Loughborough. During the interview he was asked about hobbies. On being told that he was interested in numismatics the interviewer asked what that was. Steve explained, and always credited numismatics for getting him the job. After 15 years with Fisons Steve took up a similar position with the chocolate manufacturer Thorntons at Belper, where he remained until retirement.

His love of history led to his interest in numismatics, which began at the age of 12 with a tin of coins left to him by his grandfather. This interest continued with the examining of loose change and a few purchases which eventually became a small collection. As his knowledge expanded, his special interest in 17th century tokens developed and continued throughout his life. No visit to other towns and holiday resorts was complete without a tour of the local flea markets and antique shops together with the regular Sunday morning trip to car boot sales. Steve could always provide a historical contribution to homework and would often allow coins to be taken to school for ‘show and tell’. Always glad to see the coins returned safely, he was always willing to share his knowledge and perhaps inspire a future collector.

Steve died on 5 March 2024, leaving his wife Rosalie, and three children.
Rosalie Wrenn

Cataloguer’s note: The 1,038 tokens described in the following 64 lots, representing the alphabetical counties from Bedfordshire to Lincolnshire, form the first part of the principal Wrenn collection to be sold by Noonans Mayfair. The balance of the collection, from London to Yorkshire, will be sold in 2025. Select elements of the collection are being retained by the family.