Everyday money
Small change, makeshift tokens, and humble payments used by regular working people.
Inside this collection
Copper pennies
Low-value bronze and copper coins that purchased ordinary food, ale, and daily supplies.
Merchant tokens
Private copper and brass pieces issued by shopkeepers when official small coins were scarce.
Pocket change
How ordinary individuals in past centuries carried, calculated, and spent small coinage.
Fractional notes
Small paper certificates issued in fractional values when metal coins were hoarded.
Emergency currency
Local scrip and improvised metal tokens produced during wartime sieges and blockades.
Ration tokens
Fibre and metal disks used to control consumer purchases during periods of rationing.
Cowrie shells
Small porcelain-like snail shells that functioned as counting money across Africa and Asia.
Tavern tokens
Metal checks used to prepay drinks and food in historic inns and public houses.
Small details deserve
a closer reading.
We tell the stories behind coins with clear explanations, useful sources and a sense of discovery.
Our approach