From merchants to ironmongers – the people of Norwich once took matters into their own hands when the country ran out of coins. 

In the 1790s, when Britain was at war with France, the price of copper had skyrocketed, leading to a shortage of penny and halfpenny currency. 

This caused "tremendous hardship" for merchants and shopkeepers across the country who could not give out small change in exchange for their goods. 

Copper tokens were minted by local merchants in response to a shortage of official pennies and halfpenniesCopper tokens were minted by local merchants in response to a shortage of official pennies and halfpennies (Image: Baldwin's) The Crown said any unofficial production of coins was strictly forbidden and was punishable by hanging, leading to an ingenious new form of currency being introduced. 

Local merchants would take copper blanks and stamp their own sigils on them. These discs, known as tokens, would then be redeemable for genuine coins, avoiding the threat of forgery.

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But because they were the same weight as the official currency, no one bothered to change them and in the space of a year, merchants in every town in England had begun issuing their token pence.

Traders such as Joseph Clarke offered their tokens in exchange for genuine currencyTraders such as Joseph Clarke offered their tokens in exchange for genuine currency (Image: Baldwin's) This solved the lack of small change in the 1790s and for 10 years, until the war with France ended, these coins were what people carried to pay for goods and services. 

Many merchants in Norfolk issued their own coppers, particularly in Norwich, Aylsham, Wroxham, Yarmouth and Harleston.

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A notable example was Joseph Clarke's halfpenny, who operated a market stall along Gentleman's Walk. 

His coin bore the image of a hay bale, an umbrella, a glove and a hat. 

People soon traded in the tokens rather than the country's official coinsPeople soon traded in the tokens rather than the country's official coins (Image: Newsquest) Michael Apsey, as another example, was an ironmonger and brazier in Bury St. Edmunds, who had a shop in the Butter Market.

Printed around the border of his coin was "Success to Trade". Mr Apsey went bankrupt in 1797. 

A number of these tokens still exist today and are featuring in an auction of 18th century coins at Baldwin's Auction House in London on October 7.