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Bermuda, uniface brass 8 pence token, Ireland Island Co-Operative Society Ltd. (early 1900s), very r

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / World Coins - World (A-G) Start Price:160.00 USD Estimated At:200.00 - 300.00 USD
Bermuda, uniface brass 8 pence token, Ireland Island Co-Operative Society Ltd. (early 1900s), very r
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Bermuda, uniface brass 8 pence token, Ireland Island Co-Operative Society Ltd. (early 1900s), very rare. Lyall-106. 5.69 grams. Denomination 8.D. inside legend IRELAND ISLAND CO-OP SOC LTD., with some verdigris and light encrustation but mostly original brass color, VF, from a series that was largely melted down after World War II (only two or three known in this denomination, based on Lyall's rarity rating). Lyall: "Ireland Island was the Royal Navy base in Bermuda and these are tokens issued by the Co-op store near the navy base. It is believed they were used for small change purposes when the Royal Navy ratings were paid to the nearest shilling to minimise the effort of handling small value coins by the R.N. pay section." According to Dr. Edward Cecil Harris (The Royal Gazette, July 23, 2011), "the Ireland Island Co-operative Society also gave out tokens to customers upon the purchase of goods and those could be turned in every six months for a dividend. The denominations of the IICS tokens were one and two shillings and then six lower values of 3d, 5d, 7d, 8d, 10d, and 11 pennies. The tokens are now items for coin collectors and if sold would probably realize a dividend far in excess of their face value and the original intention of the cooperative membership and management of the Ireland Island Co-operative Society." We have also traced the existence of 1d, 6d, 1 shilling and 2 shillings-sixpence examples.