Halfpenny token of William Wilberfoss

This find was unearthed by a detectorist named Paul. When he sent it in he reminded me that we had met when a group of us were out detecting around ten years since.

Paul’s find is a 17^th century Yorkshire halfpenny token. Within the inner circle on the obverse is a letter W and the surrounding legend reads WILLIAM WILBERFOSS. On the reverse there is W M in the inner circle and on this side the legend reads IN BEVERLEY.

Paul had done some research and discovered that William Wilberfoss was a mercer and a grocer and he was made Governor of Beverley in 1674.  This suggests that he was a man of some standing. 

    

Valuation

Over the years I’ve seen a large number of 17^th century tokens as detecting finds. Most have been worn and/or corroded but a few have been in good condition. However, I’ve never seen one as fine as this specimen. It is a perfect strike and looks as if it would grade EF. It’s not one of the rare Beverley tokens but it is so attractive that a pre-sale auction estimate would be no lower than £120 to £150. If a couple of keen collectors entered into a bidding battle then the upper estimate could easily be broken.

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