The Owen Ropery Token.

 

Right from the earliest days of Canadian coin collecting, the tokens of R.W. Owen have been held in esteem and commanding a high market value. At 27mm, the token was obviously a halfpenny, even though no value is expressed on it. This was not unusual; at the time, a Lower Canadian currency law from 1808 forebade the importation of tokens meant to circulate as money, but this regulation was circumvented by making such pieces appear as advertising pieces or store cards. Not money at all so far as the law was concerned.

 

 

The obverse of this token displays a ship similar to those on the "Ships, Colonies & Commerce" pieces, even though the flag is quite different, being a pennant. This token was (presumably) issued so early that it may possibly even have been the inspiration for the later SC&C coppers. Invariably, the obverse displays a certain weakness of strike. The reverse reads: R.W. OWEN / MONTREAL / ROPERY, the whole surrounded by a ring of braided rope. The rim is reeded, although somewhat crudely.

 

It was assumed from the very first that these pieces were struck in Birmingham , and there is good circumstantial evidence to support this. In 1869, Alfred Sandham, one of the most knowledgeable Montreal collectors, could write that after more than 40 years, no Owen token had been found in Montreal ; such as there were had been purchased from English dealers. Twenty years later, R.W. McLachlan could correct this by noting that a couple of worn pieces had been found in Montreal circulation but that the rest had indeed came from England . In the early 19th century, one of the perks of Birmingham mint workers was permission to retain as a souvenir an example of the copper token currently being struck and this source has provided some of our best preserved examples. At the time, McLachlan believed the total population of Owen tokens to be about five; today we place it at seven. Fred Bowman found an auction record of an Owen in Unc; two are very worn and the rest more or less as the above condition. Everything points to an extremely limited circulation in Montreal .

 

R.W. Owen established a small ropery in Montreal in about 1824 on Gain Street . It was a very limited affair, consisting of not much more than a shed, ropewalk and a ropewheel operated by hand. Actually, he appears to have limited his production to cordage rather than true rope and used only about 4 tons of hemp per year. In about 1825, James A. Converse, son of a successful ironfounder from Troy , New York , set up a much larger, better-equipped ropery in Montreal called the Montreal Cordage Works. Unable to compete, Owen soon sold out to Converse; it was a small buyout since it consisted of only the wheel and a couple of tons of hemp. Owen then went to Kingston and set up a ropery in connection with the penitentiary there but it was unsuccessful and the officials let the contract out to Converse who sent his foreman, Coyle, to run it. It, too, was unsuccessful. Converse's company later became part of the Canada Cordage Company.

 

The tokens bring large prices. The W.W.C. Wilson specimen brought $210 in 1927 and a Fine brought $500 at the 1963 CNA Convention. Stack's sold a F/VF for US$5225 in 1997 and the J.A. Hoare 1999 Auction saw $11,000 realized for a VG+.

Wayne Jacobs is a numismatic expert. Currently secretary and editor of the "Mid-Island Coin Club Numismatic Journal"of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island , British Columbia, he is the award winning author of numerous articles. The MICC journal are hosted here: MICC webpages Copyright 2006 Wayne Jacobs. This article may be reprinted freely for non commercial purpose only if the resource box is left intact, linking back to us.