Casgliadau Arlein

Copper penny token issued by the Parys Mines Company in 1787. These tokens were issued by the industrialist Thomas Williams, controller of the copper mines on Parys Mountain (near Amlwch, Anglesey) to pay his workmen and for local circulation. They were issued in response to a significant shortage of state-issued coins. The tokens were widely used across Britain. By 1787, demand for coins had outstripped supply and in the case of copper the public took the law into its own hands. Led by Thomas Williams, controller of the rich copper mines on Parys Mountain, near Amlwch (Anglesey) since 1778, industrialists and traders had tokens made to pay their workmen or for local circulation.