Whitby Trade Tokens

Whitby is famous for?

Whitby (St Hilda's) Abbey, Dracula, Bram Stoker, Captain Cook, Whitby Goths, Whitby Regatta, Whitby Whaling, Fishing, St Mary's Church, Whitby Jet, Whitby Witches, Whitby Town, The Whitby Seagull, 199 Steps, Harbour, Whitby Piers, Shipping Trades, Alum Production, B&Bs, The East Cliff, Captain William Scoresby, Fisherman's Cottages, Whitby's Yards, Steps and cobbled streets, Fish and Chips, The Endeavour, Ghost Walks, Sea Food, Seaside, The West Cliff, Whitby Folk Festival, Caedmon, Frank Sutcliffe, Whitby Kippers, Lobster, Crabs and Scampi, Synod of A.D. 664, Australian 'First Fleet' supply vessels,

Do you know any other things Whitby is famous for? Let us know and we'll add it to the list, see here!

Discover Whitby's street names and their history here

Break the ice, Jury, Binge drinking, Incredible Hulk, Down the hatch, ...discover these and many more well known phrases from our maritime past here

Find out about the building styles and architecture found in the buildings of Whitby here.

Whitby in times gone by, ads from the past here

Old Whitby Ad

If we consider that since the abandonment of the Gold Standard in 1931 (prior to which, bank notes were written out to the same value of ounces of gold coins deposited) over the past 80 years the bank note (which today we call money) has become a type of a token, it has no value in itself, it can no longer be exchanged at the bank for it's gold equivalent in ounces, it can only be exchanged for other paper notes of smaller values. Bank notes were originally written by the chief banker at your local bank as a receipt for any gold coins which you had deposited for safe keeping. Today bank notes are printed by machine and have had the "promise to pay the bearer x number of ounces of gold" on presenting the bank note removed. Effectively removing any value from it, making it a modern day token.

Historically, tokens have been used throught the world for many centuries. Whitby had it's own tokens many years ago, since the early 17th century. Trade tokens were a way for businesses to pay their employees. Trade tokens could later be exchanged for goods from the companies store, or business (usually at a highly inflated price). Tokens were not always liked, as people usually preferred genuine money (gold/silver coins of the realm) and so Acts were brought in to outlaw such practices. These Acts known as the Truck Act of 1881 and later - truck system meaning payment in goods at the company store - were brought in to stop this unfair system. The Truck Acts were later updated in the Employment rights act of 1996, which replaced the Wages Act of 1986.

According to records, the following trade tokens have existed in Whitby.

William Harrison - front shows - crowned woman in a square compartment - reverse shows - Mercer in Whitby 1669, His Halfpenny. see william harrison token link here at the ruskin coins £95. see yorkshire token 4th row down.

John Hird in Whitby - front shows - three tuns in middle - reverse shows - God save the King. (no date)

see John Hird token link here to see tokens sold at christies £121

William Lotherington - front shows - His Halfpenny - reverse - In Whitby, 1669, WEL.

John Rymer - (love heart shaped token and also a standard circular token) front shows - his half penny - reverse - picture of a crowned woman - Whitby 1671. £361 love heart and £184 for circular token

see John Rymer Tokens link here to see tokens sold at christies see lots 203 and 204.

Henry Sneaton - 1667 - front shows - His Halfpenny - reverse - In Flowergate in Whitby, including picture of whitby town arms (3 snakes)

Whitby Arms - front shows - front shows - Silver Token One Shilling - reverse Whitby Association 1811.

Today with our current debt based systems around the world, it will probably be just a matter of time before trade tokens of some kind will become popular again. At the very least it is highly likely that some kind of barter system will become the norm with the continuous devaluation of the worlds fiat currencies due to the vast amounts of unserviceable debt.

With the relatively recent invention of the computer and the internet, notes and coins will soon be replaced wholly by digital money existing only via the internet, with credit cards being used as the sole method of trade and notes will cease to exist.

Whitby is famous for?

WHITBY TRADE TOKENS