Скачать или смотреть Love Tokens, engraved coins from c. 1780-1820

In England by the late 1700s a habit had developed of taking an existing coin and engraving it with the record of someone's birth, marriage or death. These seem to have been used as gifts which commemorated the occasion. Some were worn as badges. This was done professionally or by amateurs, resulting in huge variation of style. The practice was most common between 1780 and 1820 but there are plenty of other dates. For most of the 18th century and into the 19th until 1816 very little silver was struck. The coins most often used for these so-called 'love tokens' were crowns (five shillings or 35p) and half-crowns 2 two shillings and sixpence or 12.5 p) struck by Charles II between 1662 and 1685, James II (1685-8), and William III's coins mainly of 1695 and 1696. These engraved coins are fascinating little pieces of family history but they can be very tantalising. Some can be linked to genealogical records, while others can't. This video shows a few examples of the types of engravings which turn up. There's little written about this intriguing subject. Historian Guy de la Bédoyère explains how interesting love tokens can be with some genuine examples.