¼ Penny Norfolk - Norwich / H. Colman (1848)
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Year | 1848 |
| Denomination | 1 Farthing |
| Mint | Royal Mint · Llantrisant |
| Circulation | Non-circulating |
| Composition | Copper |
| Diameter | 21.0mm |
| Thickness | 1.00mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
| Grade scale | UK (EF/UNC) |
| Spink | S# 534899PCGS |
Legend on five lines, the top curved
Tea canister labelled "H. COLMAN" in centre
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not a sale of this coinWe have no sold price for this coin yet. This range is the middle of what 3 similar coins sold for in circulated condition: the same denomination and metal, struck within 10 years. Treat it as a guide, not a valuation.
- £15.49
- £20.65
- £13.76
About the 1848 Farthing Norfolk - Norwich / H. Colman
The 1848 Farthing Norfolk - Norwich / H. Colman is a collector 1 farthing coin, struck in copper. It measures 21mm across. Reverse design: Tea canister labelled "H. COLMAN" in centre.
Common questions
How much is the 1848 Farthing Norfolk - Norwich / H. Colman worth?
No verified sale of the 1848 Farthing Norfolk - Norwich / H. Colman has been logged on MyCoinage yet.
Is the H. Colman Norwich token a real coin?
No. It is a private token made for H. Colman, a Norwich grocer, tea dealer and cheese factor, and dated 1848. It is the size of a farthing but was not issued by the Royal Mint and was never legal tender.
Why did a Norwich grocer issue his own farthing?
Unofficial farthings were struck for merchants, mostly between about 1837 and 1870, and served both as advertising and as small change where needed. Colman's piece names his trades and lists the goods he sold, so it doubled as a shop advertisement.
How many H. Colman tokens were made?
No figure is recorded. It was a private order for a shopkeeper, not an official coinage, so no mint records exist. Several museums hold examples, including Norfolk Museums Service (at Norwich, Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn) and Haworth Art Gallery.
Where can I see an H. Colman token?
Norfolk Museums Service holds several, catalogued NWHCM 2013.369, NWHCM 1953.5, GRYEH 1972.173 and KILLM 1960.25, all currently in store. Haworth Art Gallery holds another, catalogued 2008.CM865 and described as a quarter penny of Colman, tea dealer, 1848.
How do I identify the 1848 Farthing Norfolk - Norwich / H. Colman?
Check the diameter 21mm and the metal (copper) against the specification table on this page. The reverse design is described above.
History and design
In the early decades of Victoria's reign many shopkeepers had small pieces struck in the size of the farthing. The Canadian Token Collectors Club archive calls these unofficial farthings: struck mainly for merchants between 1837 and 1870, they served both as advertising and as small change where needed. An Act of 1817 had already banned the making of private token coinage, so none of them was ever a coin in law.
This piece was made for H. Colman, whom Norfolk Museums Service records as a grocer, tea dealer and cheese factor at 1 Exchange Street, Norwich, and it carries the date 1848. Norwich was a busy centre for these tokens: a collector writing in The E-Sylum puts the city's similarly dated pieces at about 15 to 20, and one Norfolk Museums Service accession groups Colman's token with those of T. Parker, J. Barnard and J. Dawbarn. No mintage is recorded.
Norfolk Museums Service's Great Yarmouth example gives the obverse inscription as H. Colman, 1 Exchange Street, Norwich, 1848, with his trades of grocer, tea dealer and cheese factor. The reverse shows a jar or canister with a list of goods: tea, coffee, spices, pickles and fish sauces. The same record describes the metal as bronze, a copper alloy. There is no portrait of the Queen, and the engraver and maker are not recorded.
Collecting notes
Although catalogued here as a quarter penny, which is how Haworth Art Gallery labels its example, the piece is a farthing-sized shop token rather than part of the regal coin series. Collectors file it under unofficial farthings, the group listed by R. C. Bell and expanded in the 1994 supplement by Bell, Whitmore and Sweeny, and in Paul and Bente Withers' The Token Book 2.
The address, trades and list of groceries are what identify the token, so check that the lettering on both sides is legible. Several Norfolk museums hold examples, which helps when comparing a piece offered for sale against a documented one.
Sources
The history, design, varieties and collecting notes on this page are drawn from these sources. Prices come from recorded sales, not from them.
- Norwich token; farthing token; token (NWHCM 2013.369), Norfolk Museums Service, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Token, H. Colman, 1 Exchange Street, Norwich 1848 (GRYEH 1972.173), Norfolk Museums Service, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Token, 1/4 d Colman tea dealer 1848 (2008.CM865), Haworth Art Gallery, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Trade token, four Norwich trade tokens for H. Colman, T. Parker, J. Barnard and J. Dawbarn (NWHCM 1953.5), Norfolk Museums Service, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- 19th Century English Unofficial Farthings 1838-1870: Introduction, Canadian Token Collectors Club (Bill McKivor archive) (read 10 Oct 2026)
- More on the Parker and Bagshaw Norwich tokens (The E-Sylum, vol. 19 no. 8, article 17), Numismatic Bibliomania Society (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Norfolk token; Norwich token, H. Colman (KILLM 1960.25), Norfolk Museums Service, via Museum Data Service (read 10 Oct 2026)
- Penny (British pre-decimal coin), Wikipedia (read 10 Oct 2026)
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