Early Currency in Western Australia found in Wooroloo

We were recently given a pawnbrokers one penny token by one of our members. It was found in Wooroloo.

The images are example of one for sale on eBay value $247.50!!!

Pawnbroking tokens, often in the form of small, privately issued coins or medallions, were used in the past to facilitate transactions in pawnbroking businesses, particularly when official coinage was scarce. These tokens served as a form of credit, allowing customers to redeem them for goods or services at the pawnbroker's establishment.

Pawnbroker John Henderson was born in Leith, Scotland in 1818. He was a seaman who appears to have wished to better his family’s lot by illegal means. His third charge, for the crime of Theft aggravated by Housebreaking at Leith Pawnbrokers, saw him sentenced to 14 years transportation as a convict in 1851.

Ironically John established a pawnbroker shop-residence on the corner of Packenham and Collie Streets in Fremantle.

The lack of coinage in the colony led John to have penny tokens minted by Stokes and Martin in Melbourne. His tokens were the last to be produced in Australia.

The reason these tokens were used during the mid-19th century were because small coinage was often scarce as they were not minted here. Perth Mint for instance was only built in 1896 and officially opened in 1899.

Tokens were outlawed when the Government started to mint official currency, but surprising numbers of the unofficial coins have survived some well over 150 years old.

It’s interesting that the token was found in Wooroloo! There will be more information to come and if anyone has any of these tokens and would like to share their history with us .Please do contact us (details in footer below).