• Silver Lighthouse Shilling Token, c.1811

 

Great Britain, Devonshire, County, Silver Shilling Token, undated (c.1811), obverse: "Value ONE SHILLING" around picturesque view of Eddystone lighthouse, rough seas and two ships in the distance (the lighthouse stands 14km from Rame Head in Cornwall; the structure on the token is actually the third on the site, designed by John Smeaton, a civil engineer, and modelled on the shape of an oak tree, it is known as "Smeaton's Tower". Being 18m high and 8m in diameter at the base, it remained in use until 1877 when erosion to the rocks under the lighthouse caused it to shake from side to side whenever large waves hit. This lighthouse is best known because of its influence on lighthouse design and its importance in the development of concrete for building. Its upper portions have been re-erected in Plymouth as a monument. The previous structures were destroyed), beaded border, reverse: DEVON SILVER TOKEN within oak wreath, edge milled, diam. 25mm (D. 1). From the James O'Donald Mays collection. Uncirculated and very attractive.