Andaman Islands, 1 rupee 1866

[Alex Island]

Please note that the obverse is from 1861 and the reverse is from 1866 (sic!)

I thought that there might be some kind of mistake with the obverse and reverse, but I found an edition of an old magazine that shows the same combination:

[Mister T]

Interesting, I'd never heard of these. Where were they struck?

[Figleaf]

The 1861 tokens (mintage 20 000) are known to have been struck in Kolkata (Calcutta at the time). The obverse is by William Charles Wyon used for the Straits Settlements cent 1862. The reverse design was proposed by captain J. C. Houghton, superintendant of the penal colony. Specimen of the 1861 token without hole are considered patterns.

The 1866 tokens (mintage 20 800) were also struck in Calcutta. The obverse is by Leonard Charles Wyon used for the 1862 coinage for India. The reverse was unchanged. The BM has an 1861/1866 mule.

All tokens were recalled in 1870. The records show that 17 788 tokens were returned, leaving around 23 000 tokens unaccounted for. Sales records suggest that far less are available. Almost all known tokens surfaced in the UK. So far, none came from India.

Peter

[Mister T]

Yes, here it is: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_1935-0401-12273