1795 NGC MS 63 Spence Press Gang 1/2 Penny Conder Middlesex DH 337 Coin (22021202C)

Mint State Uncirculated Great Britain Conder 1/2 penny token coin. 1795 "Press Gang" token Middlesex, Spence's D&H 737. Certified by NGC to MS 63 BN. Toned with lustrous & reflective surfaces, very nice in hand. Superb detail shown with sailor, pressed man & shepherd. The "Press Gang" was one of the most hated institutions in 18th Century Britain. Obverse: A press gang dragging a man, BRITISH LIBERTY DISPLAYED, in ex 1795.  Reverse: A shepherd reclined under a tree viewing a pastoral scene with mountain & sheep, in ex. 1790.  Edge: Plain.  Thomas Spence was an activist born in Newcastle in 1750 Spence became a schoolmaster and he gradually developed radical political views and in the 1770s began to argue that all land should be nationalised. Spence was strongly influenced by the writings of Tom Paine. In Newcastle he sold Paine's work on the street as well as pamphlets that he had written. In December 1792 Spence moved to London and attempted to make a living my selli