RCM recreates the HMS New Brunswick token

[quaziright]

RCM RECREATES THE HMS NEW BRUNSWICK TOKEN

The history of coinage in the British
colonies is fascinating for those who love coins.
Before Confederation, the colonies tried a
number of schemes to make up for shortages of
Crown-approved currency. These shortages
happened frequently, and an economy emerged
that mixed bills of exchange, cheques, and bank
notes with official coinage, unofficial tokens,
hole-punched silver pieces, and alternative
currencies. Many of these coins could only be
used locally and had little or no value in other
parts of Canada. Only coins officially
sanctioned by the Crown retained their value
across the colonies.
After an unsuccessful attempt to circulate
British copper, the New Brunswick
government decided to issue penny and
halfpenny tokens dated 1843. The Colonial
Office, on being informed of the plan,
disallowed the initiative because that was
exclusively a Royal prerogative. Because New
Brunswick was so desperate for coinage, the
tokens ended up being secretly struck after all
by Boulton & Watt at the Soho Mint in
Birmingham, England. They were
surreptitiously introduced into circulation once
they reached New Brunswick

The design, created by the Soho Mint, is a
detailed depiction of a three-mast frigate at
anchor—reflecting the importance of sea trade
and shipbuilding for New Brunswick. A frigate
was a type of ship that was designed to sail at
a high speed. Frigates bore dozens of guns on
the foredeck. At the height of the frigate's
popularity, merchant frigates were sometimes
designed to look just like naval frigates, with
false gun ports to dissuade piracy. The Soho
Mint referred to it as the most beautiful design
they had ever produced. Although collectors
sometime refer to the vessel featured on this
coin as "HMS New Brunswick," no such naval
ship actually existed. Instead, it is likely that
this design was based on one or more of the
naval and merchant vessels of this type that
were common at the time.
Designed to appeal to numismatists with an
interest in colonial coinage, as well as those
wanting to invest in an ounce of .99999 pure
gold, this product follows the Mint's recent
policy of creating products that are appealing
to particular niche markets. With a selling price
of $2,799.95 and a limited mintage of 250, this
$200 face value coin sold out within days of its
announcement.

Source: NYCC june News Bulletin
Mint.ca: 1 oz. Pure Gold Coin - HMS New Brunswick - Mintage: 250 (2019) | The Royal;