Bent sixpence "love tokens".

[Saffron]

FenTiger, I always think of "love tokens" being thrown away. But in the case of the 1/2 guinea that would seem a bit rash so it could have been lost, people often dropped coins so there is no reason why a sweetheart might not accidentally drop a coin that had been fashioned into a love token.

Muddy Mick, come on give me break how was I meant to know that "maybe when i took those pictures id flattened it a bit it was deffo the S shape"

But as FT said there were still the indications of a double bend which would be very unlikely to have been caused by damage in the ground. So I am more than happy to accept that it was done of purpose.

Evan

[Bors]

Quote Efan,...." They all lived together in a little crooked house" refers to the fact that the English and Scots had at last come to an agreement".

Which didn`t last much longer than it probably took the Ink to dry As the SNP still are trying cause trouble by inciting rebellion to this day.

[muddy mick]

Muddy Mick, come on give me break how was I meant to know that "maybe when i took those pictures id flattened it a bit it was deffo the S shape"


Evan

Lol nearest I can find trawling through my pictures

[Wardie1994]

I found a quarter guinea love token and a Charles 1 six pence love token

[the-roman]

Over the years I have found two hammered bent into the 'S' shape, so I think they have been used as love tokens for longer than we think

[Doug]

Over the years I have found two hammered bent into the 'S' shape, so I think they have been used as love tokens for longer than we think

This is the earliest one I have found, Elizabeth 1st.

[Bors]

Deffo Love Tokens

[Saffron]

Very many thanks to everybody for your fascinating input.

I have certainly learnt some thing, eg I had never heard of gold coins being bent as "love tokens" (must have been some rich men around to hand them out, and the ladies must also have been rich if they threw them away (athough as said in an earlier post its possible that they were lost)).

I had mainly thought of them being milled sixpences mainly from the reign of William III (1694-1702), although I had know of the odd earlier hammered and latter milled.

But I do not remember any quite as old as that cracking Elizabeth I 1564 example that Doug posted.
Interestingly this is some time before the Scottish General Sir Alexander Leslie signed a covenant securing religious and political freedom for Scotland, which is meant to be the meaning of the "There was a crooked man ... he found a crooked sixpence" rhyme. So either the coin had been in circulation for a long time before it was bent and given away (which is quite possible), or else coins were being bent like this even earlier than the rhyme would suggest. Interesting.

Not sure that I am any the wiser about why these coinse were bent like this than when I first posted. But I think that a large percentage were probably as "love tokens" although some might well have been for other reasons such as lucky charms or to ward off evil.

Once again thanks to all that have posted. Any more thoughts, or old / unusual examples would be appreciated.

Evan

[Doug]

I have just gone back into my photograph file, the Elizabeth 1st love token I found on 21st November 2010.

The field where it was found had a Tudor mansion house, great hall and a church running down one side of the field, only the church now remains.

The field runs down the side what would have been the tree lined main avenue up to the house.