Blacksmith token
[4] The more common Blacksmith tokens can be had for about C$20-$30, while the rarer varieties for which only a handful or unique examples are known can command prices in the thousands of dollars.
McLachlan in an 1885 article about Canadian Numismatics, where he describes a specific coin of this series and says: Previous to 1837, when the lack of specie caused copper change to be accepted in bulk, there lived in Montreal a blacksmith of dissipated habits.
McLachlan in articles dating back to the mid-1880s, and several examples were also included in Pierre-Napoléon Breton's extensive catalog of Canadian colonial tokens.
[16] One of these mules includes dies made for a store card token that was released within the United States in 1835, meaning that the Blacksmith version could not have been issued prior to this date.
[17] Wood also pointed out the relative scarcity of these Blacksmith tokens when compared to those imitating regal coinage, believing that they were issued in limited numbers.
[23] Research continues in this area, the most recent contribution being by John Lorenzo who has done extensive X-ray fluorescence studies of various Blacksmith tokens to determine their metal composition.
The obverse contains the profile of George III with what Wood described as a "large pug nose",[26] while the reverse has a seated Britannia holding a shamrock.
Unlike most Blacksmith tokens, this coin features a legend on both sides, with the tops of the letters obscured by excessive die polishing, possibly done on purpose.
McLachlan refuted this claim, saying that he had "little doubt that this piece was struck and issued in Canada as an imitation of a George III copper".
[30] An off-center strike of this Blacksmith token in the collection of the Bank of Canada Museum where the top portion of the supposed "T" ought to be more visible, but is not, contradicts this reading.
[32] A more recent article claims that several high-grade examples of the coin reveal a weak serif and cross-bar on the "L", and that the first "O" is thinner than the second, suggesting that the initial word of the legend should be read as "GEORIUVS" instead.
