1837 Cumberland Jack Token - Victoria To Hanover

 
Location
United Kingdom 
Type
Utility items › Counter tokens
Year
1837
Composition
Brass
Weight
2.75 g
Diameter
23 mm
Shape
Round
Technique
Milled
Orientation
Medal alignment ↑↑
Demonetized
Yes
Number
N#
35716
Series: Cumberland Jack Token - Victoria (To Hanover)
Obverse
Portrait left
Script: Latin
Lettering: VICTORIA REGINA
Reverse
Small date.
Script: Latin
Lettering:
TO HANOVER
1837
Comments

The tokens & counters that bear the words "To Hanover" (commonly known as Cumberland Jacks) are usually found with Victoria's portrait on the obverse and a figure riding a horse on the reverse (in the style of St George slaying the dragon). They were produced as satirical counters.

The history behind these pieces is that when Victoria was crowned as Queen, she was unable to fulfil the role of King of Hanover under Salic Law, due to the fact that she was a female. Her unpopular Uncle (Ernest Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland) who was the oldest male heir to the throne was sent off to Hanover instead to fulfil the role, and the counters/tokens were produced to commemorate (celebrate) his departure. Such was his unpopularity that many of the tokens on closer inspection actually depict a monkey on horseback which was intended to portray the Duke.

They were produced around the time of Victoria's ascension to the throne in 1837, and continued to be produced for the next few decades. They were finally made illegal in 1883.