A token found in Embsay and made of pewter (a tin-lead alloy) has recently been submitted to the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS). We were given the opportunity to investigate it further. As is often the case, an artefact reveals forgotten history.

We had the token photographed using a technique which brings out the surface patterns (Picture 1). The token is very worn, but the pattern was probably not well-defined even when it was new. The reverse face of the token appears to have no markings or patterns. The predominant pattern on the obverse consists of pairs of linked crescent shapes, one pair each in the top and bottom half of the token. There are four triangles, one each at the ‘quarter-hour’ positions, two of which are joined by a straight line. There is a border pattern around the edge of the token, but try as we might, we could not identify any lettering. A hole has been pierced in the border as if it was used as a pendant necklace or strung onto a string.

A search on the PAS website reveals similar tokens discovered recently by metal detectorists. One (Picture 2) was found near to Clapham and one (Picture 3) near to Kilnsey. Both have central patterns with borders which might be lettering, but which cannot now be read. Both have holes pierced in the outer borders.  The central pattern in both tokens contain paired crescent shapes and lines with triangular ends, the Clapham example being the clearest.

The PAS calls the Clapham and Kilnsey pieces ‘Merchant Tokens’ dating them from between 1600 and 1700. The similarities between the three makes it very likely that our Embsay example is also a merchant’s token from the same date.

The history of merchants’ token has been well researched. A Victorian collector amassed hundreds of tokens and catalogued them in a two-volume book (Google ‘Trade Tokens William Boyne). He listed 5 Skipton examples, describing patterns on the obverse and reverse (front and back). All these tokens were issued by Skipton traders, many of whom were ‘worthy’ townspeople.

• Robert Lund, who was a churchwarden in 1674, issued a half-penny token in 1666. It was inscribed ‘ROBERT . LUND . GROCER = The Grocers Arms’ on the obverse and ‘’IN . SKIPTON . 1666 = HIS HALF PENNY’.
  
• Ann Greene was also a publican. ‘ANNE . GREENE . OF . SKIPTON = The Grocers Arms’ I . WILL . EXCHAING . MY . PENY = 1670’. The pattern on her penny was described as a fleur-de-lys. (Robert Lund married Mary Greene in 1674 so Ann may have been her sister)
  
• Richard Dixon (probably also a churchwarden in 1662) issued a half penny in 1668. It was inscribed on the obverse ‘RICHARD DIXON = HIS HALF PENNY’ and on the reverse ‘OF SKIPTON . 1668 = R.R.D’
  
• Mary Fenwick issued a penny token in 1671. It was inscribed on the obverse ‘MARY FENWICKE OF SKIPTON =’ with an image of a beer barrel. The reverse stated ‘I . WILL . EXCHANGE . MY . PENY =1671 1^D.’ Mary was probably the landlady of a pub or beer-house.
  
• Samuell Green seems to have owned or run two pubs. ‘SAMVELL . GREENE . IN. SKIPTON = The Drapers Arms’, ‘I . WILL . EXCHAING . MY . PENY. 70 = The Mercers Arms’.

It is also possible that the description, for example, of ‘the Grocers Arms’ refers to an heraldic device that was stamped into these coins and widely exchanged across more than one business.

Merchant tokens were issued and used in the 17^th century because there was a shortage of government-issued coins. Coins were made of precious metals, normally silver and, at that time, a silver shilling was often worth more as silver bullion than as money. It was not uncommon for coins to be melted down and the bullion traded abroad. Consequently, there was a shortage of real coins. Shopkeepers found a way around the problem by issuing their own ‘coins’, or tokens usually in penny or half-penny denominations.  The Skipton tokens issued by named individuals would have been relatively expensive and issued by the wealthier traders. The smaller businesses in the town probably all used generic tokens, of which the Embsay, Clapham and Kilnsey tokens are probably examples.

The official production of small denomination copper coins was increased by the government at the end of the 17^th century, and a Royal proclamation banned the use of tokens. They did however re-appear during the Napoleonic Wars of 1811-15. (The well-known practice of paying mill workers in tokens that were only redeemable in company shops was outlawed by the Truck Act of 1831).

There are other similar Embsay finds recorded in the PAS. The PAS records picture 4 as a medieval token, dated 1350 to 1500, but the poor state of preservation makes it difficult to distinguish the design. The token shown in picture 5 is well preserved, of a completely different design. This is dated in the PAS as from 1450 to 1700 and is recorded as probably of medieval in origin, but unidentified.

Picture 6 is recorded as a medieval badge from 1300 – 1500. Picture 7 is a more recent Embsay find (2023). This is recorded as a medieval badge, possibly a pilgrim’s badge, from 1350 -1550 However, there are distinct similarities between the pieces in pictures 1, 2, and 3 and 7 although the crescent symbols in 7 are smaller and not paired together.

People have walked through Embsay, along the roads and footpaths and across the fields for more than a millennium, so the chances of someone dropping such objects is quite high. It is always fascinating to see what has been found, even if it is difficult for the archaeologists to firmly attribute a description and date. We would be very interested to hear of any other finds from Embsay, Eastby or nearby.

(Google ‘Portable Antiquities Scheme’ if you want to see more. Enter ‘Embsay’ in the search box)

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