Object Details
- Description (Brief)
- One (1) penny coin, pattern
- Griqua Town, 1890
- Obverse Image: Queen Victoria facing left.
- Obverse Text: VICTORIA D:G: BRITTANIAR: REG: F: D:
- Reverse Image: A dove flying with an olive branch in its beak.
- Reverse Text: GRIQUA TOWN
- Description
- In 1890 a German firm called Otto Nolte & Co. minted this penny pattern coin in Berlin. The firm designed this pattern with the hope of selling coins like it for use in Griquatown, South Africa. The London Missionary Society (LMS) established Griquatown in the early 1800s with the intention of creating a state of baptized Christians of mixed Khoesan (an indigenous South African community) ancestry. The coins they created depict a flying dove. The dove was a symbol of the LMS and the coins were nicknamed “dove money.” This 1890 pattern coin also features a portrait of Queen Victoria, because the Cape Colony was under British rule at the time. Neither the original Griquatown coins nor the 1890 pattern circulated widely.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
- date made
- 1890
- Physical Description
- bronze (overall material)
- Measurements
- overall: .19 cm x 3.03 cm; 1/16 in x 1 3/16 in
- Object Name
- coin
