17th Century Tokens from the Collection of Quentin Archer

London (City), Church Lane [Thames Street], Richard Smith, Halfpenny, 1665, 1.61g/12h (N 9281, this piece; BW. 638); Cloak Lane [Cannon Street], N.I.B. at the willow tree, Farthing, 0.74g/6h (N 6784, this piece; BW. 670), I.P.B. at the willow tree, Farthing, 1.10g/6h (N 6785, this piece; BW. 671); Cloth Fair, Christo: Ashbourn, Halfpenny, 1.04g/12h (N 6786, this piece; BW. 672), William Chandler, Farthing, 1.23g/6h (N 6787, this piece; BW. 674) [5]. Fine and better, N 6786 and N 6787 extremely rare, the issues for Cloak Lane being the only ones known for that location £100-£150

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, 17th Century Tokens from the Collection of Quentin Archer.

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Collection

Provenance: N 9281 Norweb Collection, Spink Auction 212, 28-9 March 2012, lot 738 (part) [from Spink 1971]; others R.A. Nott Collection, Norweb Collection, Spink Auction 195, 26 June 2008, lot 289 (part) [N 6785 from Baldwin].

The Norweb authors refer to the conclusion of Harben (1918) that Cloak Lane gained its name after the Great Fire, but the name appears in the Hearth Tax returns for Lady Day 1666 which fell more than five months earlier. The obverse die of N 6784 was subsequently used on N 7444 (Old Change) to where the issuer may have moved. Christopher Ashbourn, chandler