c.1792 Kentucky Token - Birmingham Lettered Edge

Coin Details

Description

Bearing "BIRMINGHAM" edge lettering that directly identifies its English manufacturing origin, this circa 1792 Kentucky Token (Whitman 8650) is struck in copper at approximately 9.5 grams with a 29 mm diameter. The Birmingham inscription connects this token to the prolific manufacturing industry centered in Birmingham, England, where firms produced vast quantities of provincial and colonial tokens. The obverse features a hand holding a scroll inscribed UNANIMITY above a star pattern; the reverse shows an eagle and shield. The Birmingham edge variety is moderately scarce, distinguished from the Lancaster lettered edge (Whitman 8660) and plain edge variants. The Birmingham identification removes ambiguity about manufacturing location — these were definitively products of England's industrial heartland, struck on steam-powered presses representing the most advanced coining technology of the era. Kentucky Tokens as a class were likely produced commercially to capitalize on Kentucky's June 1, 1792 admission as the fifteenth state, and they circulated in America alongside the eclectic mix of coins and tokens constituting early republic small-denomination currency.

Rarity Notes

Moderately scarce.

Cross References

Whitman 8650