Lundy: puffin and half puffin tokens of 1929

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Lundy, an English island situated in the Bristol Channel.

From Wikipedia:

Lundy is an English island. It is the largest island in the Bristol Channel. Lundy's name comes from the old Norse and means "puffin island". The island lies 10 nautical miles (19 km) off the coast of Devon, England.

Lundy forms part of the district of Torridge in the county of Devon. It is around 3 miles (5 kilometres) long and five eighths of a mile (1 km) wide. The island is owned by the National Trust. It is managed by the Landmark Trust, a conservation charity that derives its income from day trips and holiday lettings.

In 2007 Lundy had a resident population of 28 people. These include a warden, a ranger, an island manager, a farmer, bar and housekeeping staff, and volunteers. Most live in and around the village at the south of the island. Most visitors are day-trippers, although there are 23 holiday properties and a camp site for overnight visitors.

As a steep, rocky island, often shrouded by fog, Lundy has been the scene of many shipwrecks. It has a rich bird life and attracts many vagrant as well as indigenous species. It also boasts a variety of marine habitats, with rare seaweeds, sponges and corals. In 2010 the island became Britain's first Marine Conservation Zone.

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A map of Lundy's location.

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Map of Lundy.

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Martin Coles Harman.

Martin Coles Harman (1885–1954) was an English businessman. In 1925 he bought the island of Lundy and proclaimed himself King.

Harman was born in Steyning in Sussex and educated at Whitgift School in Croydon. At the age of 16 he left school to work for Lazard, where he became an influential figure in early 20th-century corporate finance in the City of London. In 1913 he married Amy Ruth Harman (née Bodger). In June 1919 Mr Harman moved to Chaldon, Surrey, where he lived with his wife and their four children. In 1926, he donated land he owned in the village to the National Trust, which was subsequently named "Six Brothers Field" at his request.

Harman bought Lundy and its supply boat the MV Lerina in 1925 for £25,000 (equivalent to £1,516,948 in 2021). In 1927 the GPO ended postal services to the island. For the next two years, Harman handled, and covered the costs of all the island's postage himself. On 1 November 1929, Harman introduced his own "Puffin" stamps to offset this cost.

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THE LUNDY PUFFIN AND HALF PUFFIN TOKENS

The tokens of Lundy were unofficial issues of currency from the island of Lundy. Two bronze tokens, the "half puffin" and "one puffin", were issued with a 1929 date and featured a portrait of Martin Coles Harman, who owned the island and was responsible for the issue.

The first issue was issued in 1929 by the self-declared 'King of Lundy', Martin Coles Harman. There were two tokens – the Half Puffin and the One Puffin, which were rated at the same nominal value as the British halfpenny and penny.

Visitors from the island could exchange any remaining 'puffins' at the banks in Bideford (in Devon, England), who then returned the Lundy coins to the island (Coin News 1999).

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Obverse of the half puffin token of 1929.

The obverse of the half puffin featured a portrait of Martin Cole Harman.

Apparently Mr. Harman designed the portrait himself.

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Reverse of the half puffin token of 1929.

The reverse of the half puffin featured a puffin and its upper body.

This was in effect a "half puffin". 

Apparently Mr. Harman also designed the reverse.

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Obverse of the one puffin token of 1929.

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Reverse of the one puffin token of 1929.

The reverse of the one puffin featured a puffin perched on a rock.

Apparently Mr. Harman also designed this reverse.

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The edge inscription on the Lundy tokens.

Image © Joseph Kunnappally.

The puffin and half puffin had an edge inscription.

It was: LUNDY LIGHTS AND LEADS


This was a reference to Lundy's two lighthouses.

"Lights" and "leads" are verbs and not nouns, in this case.

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PRODUCTION AND SPECIFICATIONS

The tokens were struck in Birmingham by Ralph Heaton's Mint, Birmingham Ltd. The money saw real, if limited use.

50,000 bronze tokens, about the size of a penny, were minted by Ralph Heaton & Sons, Birmingham in 1929, together with a similar number of articles about the size of a half-penny. There was a £100 fee for preparing the designs and sinking the dies.

The puffin and half puffin were clearly meant to mimic the UK penny and half penny in a humorous way. The tokens were of the same metal and of a similar size, though different enough in their specifications to avoid charges of forgery.

The tokens were made of bronze. The half puffin weighed 5.6 grams and was 23 mm in diameter. It was 1 mm thick. The puffin weighed 10 grams and was 29.29 mm in diameter. It was 1.5 mm thick. Bronze pattern coins of the 1929 issue exist with a thicker flange and the lack of an edge inscription. The details on the obverse and reverse also differ slightly.

The UK half penny of the time weighed 5.67 grams and was 25.5 mm in diameter. It was 1.7 mm thick. The UK penny of the time weighed 9.45 grams and was 30.8 mm in diameter. It was 1.6 mm thick. Like the tokens that mimicked them, both coins were made of bronze.

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A puffin.

The tokens were called puffins for a good reason.

The islanders had long bartered puffin feathers for food and other commodities.

The island is home to a large population of puffins.

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The Marisco Tavern, Lundy's only pub.

Mr. Harman put the tokens into circulation on Lundy.

The half puffin was equal in value to a UK half penny.

Accordingly, a puffin token was equal in value to a UK penny.


The tokens were used and spent in the Marisco Tavern.

This was Lundy's only public house.


In 1929 a pint of beer typically cost 5 pence.

That was in the predecimal money of the day.

Remember that there were 12 pence to a shilling.

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THE COURT CASES

From Wikipedia:

Harman had sent specimen coins to the Royal Mint and had been thanked for them, although they had warned him about Section 5 of the Coinage Act of 1870. Harman replied that Lundy was a little Kingdom in the British Empire, but out of England. He recognised King George V as the head of state, however he was adamant that Lundy was a self-governing dominion within the British Empire.

This led to a visit from the Devon Constabulary, and a Superintendent Bolt and other officers reported seeing the coins (tokens) in use at the Marisco Tavern, mixed with standard British Imperial coinage. Harman lost his case at the Petty Sessions in Bideford and appealed to the High Court of Justice where he also lost and was fined £5, with fifteen guineas costs (£15 15s - fifteen pounds and fifteen shillings).

Sir Hugh N. Grenville Stucley was the presiding magistrate at the Petty Sessional Division court which tried the case of Supt. Bolt on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions v. Martin Coles Harman, charged with on the 5th day of March, 1930, in the Island of Lundy in the County of Devon, did unlawfully as a token for money issue a piece of metal to the value of one half-penny, contrary to Section 5 of the Coinage Act of 1870.

The appeal trial was held on 13 January 1931 at the King's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, in London, and, it was hoped at the time, would settle the status of Lundy once and for all. It didn't – but it did show how utterly confused the situation was.

In his defence, Harman said he had every right to mint money, for Lundy, in his words, was "a vest-pocket-size, self-governing dominion," out of the realm for every practical purpose. The Lundy residents, he pointed out, never had paid any taxes to England and were liable to customs when they went there, for Lundy itself was a free port.

The Attorney General, who was prosecuting Harman, said that Lundy was surely a Utopia but that its inhabitants would be just as happy if the face of King George V, rather than of Harman, were depicted on the place's currency. Harman's face was on the front of the coins, and that of a puffin on the back. There were two denominations, a one-puffin coin and a half-puffin coin, neatly convertible to a penny and a ha'penny at the legal rate of exchange.

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POST-SCRIPT

By 1928 Harman had controlled a portfolio of companies worth an estimated £12 million. However, in 1931 his wife Amy died of kidney failure aged 47, and one year later Harman was declared bankrupt. As Lundy had been held in trust, Harman was able to keep his ownership of the island despite his bankruptcy. In November 1933 Harman was found guilty on charges of conspiracy to defraud in connection with a Korean syndicate. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Martin Coles Harman died in 1954. In 1969 Lundy was purchased by British millionaire Jack Hayward, who donated it to the National Trust.