½ Penny - Allen and Cº South Shields (1890)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1890 |
| Denomination | ½ Penny |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Demonetised | Yes |
| Composition | Brass |
| Weight | 4.000g |
| Diameter | 22.5mm |
| Thickness | 1.00mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
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AffiliateAbout the 1890 Halfpenny - Allen and Cº South Shields
The 1890 Halfpenny - Allen and Cº South Shields is a collector ½ penny coin, struck in brass. It weighs 4g and measures 22.5mm across.
It is no longer legal tender, so its value is to collectors only.
Common questions
How much is the 1890 Halfpenny - Allen and Cº South Shields worth?
No verified sale of the 1890 Halfpenny - Allen and Cº South Shields has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
What is the Allen & Co South Shields halfpenny?
It is a store token of Allen & Co (South Shields) Ltd, a large department store at Laygate, South Shields. It has no royal portrait, carries the store's name and the value ½d on both sides, and was never a coin of the realm.
How old is the Allen & Co halfpenny token?
North East Museums dates its ½d example to the mid 20th century. The catalogue date of 1890 is not supported by any museum record, and the LTD. in the legend shows the firm was a limited company when the token was made.
What were Allen's store tokens used for?
A South Shields local history site says Allen's gave tokens instead of cash when customers returned goods, and the tokens then had to be spent in the store. It describes a 2 shilling piece; the ½d belongs to the same family of store tokens.
What denominations of Allen & Co token exist?
North East Museums holds Allen & Co tokens for ½d, 1d, 3d, 6d, 1 shilling, 2 shillings, 5 shillings and 10 shillings. All carry the same company name and the value, with identical obverse and reverse.
How do I identify the 1890 Halfpenny - Allen and Cº South Shields?
Check the weight 4g and diameter 22.5mm and the metal (brass) against the specification table on this page.
History and design
Allen & Co (South Shields) Ltd ran a large department store at Laygate in South Shields. North East Museums holds photographs of its interior from about 1950, and South Tyneside Libraries has photographs of the store, spelled Allan's in its catalogue, including one from 1964. The firm issued its own tokens in a run of values from ½d to 10 shillings.
This is the halfpenny. North East Museums, which holds an example, dates it to the mid 20th century, not to the Victorian period. A South Shields local history site explains the purpose of the store's tokens: a customer returning goods was often given a token for their value instead of cash, to be spent in the store.
Both sides are the same. North East Museums transcribes the lettering as ALLEN & Co, (SOUTH SHIELDS), LTD. and the value 1/2 D, on a small round metal piece 22 mm across. There is no portrait, date or maker's name. Other values in the museum's set read ALLEN AND Co in full rather than with an ampersand.
Collecting notes
The token belongs with 20th-century shop and store tokens rather than Victorian trade tokens. The museum's set shows how the denominations differ: possibly copper for the 1d, gold-coloured for the 3d and 10 shillings, and silver-coloured for the 6d, 1 shilling, 2 shillings and 5 shillings.
Check that the value reads 1/2 D, because the other denominations carry the same company lettering. The ampersand form ALLEN & Co is recorded on the ½d and on one 6d; most other values in the museum's set spell out AND.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Token, 1/2 d, Allen and Co. Ltd. of South Shields (TWCMS 2010.4546), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Token, 2 shilling, Allen and Co. Ltd. of South Shields (TWCMS 2010.3219), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Token, 5 shilling, Allen and Co. Ltd. of South Shields (TWCMS 2010.3215), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Token, 6d, Allen and Co. Ltd. of South Shields (TWCMS 2010.4547), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Photo of old Store Token Coin From Allens South Shields, South Shields Sanddancers (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Photograph, interior of Allen & Co. (South Shields) Ltd department store, Laygate, c.1950 (TWCMS 2025.549), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Token, 10 shilling, Allen and Co. Ltd. of South Shields (TWCMS 2010.3218), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Token, 1d, Allen and Co. Ltd. of South Shields (TWCMS 2007.5763), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Token, 3d, Allen and Co. Ltd. of South Shields (TWCMS 2007.5764), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Allan's Department Store, Laygate (STH0019192, 1964), South Tyneside Libraries (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Token, 1 shilling, Allen and Co. Ltd. of South Shields (TWCMS 2010.3220), North East Museums, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
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