18th-Century “Wildman of Jesso” Bronze Token Stars in Stanley Gibbons Baldwin Auction

The firm offered more than 600 items from three different collections, “providing a marvelous window into this last decade of the 18th century.”

An 18th-century “Wildman of Jesso” bronze token was among the highlights of Stanley Gibbons Baldwin’s recent 18th Century British Token Auction, held Oct. 7 in London.

The firm offered more than 600 items from three different collections, “providing a marvelous window into this last decade of the 18th century,” according to Baldwin’s.

The auction represented many British counties as well as illuminating the usage of token coinage across countless commercial industries and enterprises during the late 1700s.

A key highlight of the sale was Lot 451, an extraordinary copper halfpenny token featuring a bizarre, grinning, hair-covered face with eyes wide open and wild hair. The token’s inscription reads: A WILDMAN’S HEAD FROM THE LAND OF JESSO TO BE SEEN AT... Flipping the token over reveals the reverse inscription: SUMMERS’ MUSEUM NO 24 OLD CAVENDISH STREET OXFORD STREET.

This is the token termed the “Wildman halfpenny,” just one of the many private tokens of the Georgian period. Minted in 1797, this piece was issued by Richard Summers, a perfumer and antiquities dealer operating in London, with a shop and museum on Old Cavendish Street, a street coming off of Oxford Street.

An age of curiosity

This was the golden age of the cabinet of curiosities. Georgian gentlemen frequented antiquities shops, filled to the brim with “curiosities” pouring into Britain from the far reaches of its empire. These cabinets of curiosities became the earliest museums. It seems clear that Summers chose to feature on his token what he believed to be his most striking and impressive piece, to draw in the crowds and collectors.

Summers’s “halfpenny” appears in Robert Conder’s seminal work on 18th century tokens, a catalogue printed in 1798, one year after the Wildman token was issued.

Estimated at £300 to £350 ($390 to $455), the token realized £2,760 ($3,588 U.S.) including fees.