| SPECIFICATIONS | |
| Denomination | 4 1/2 d |
| Alloy | Brass |
| Diameter | 26.7 mm |
| Thickness | 1.8 mm |
| Weight | 6.98 gms |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
| DieAxis | O° |
| Issue | |
1866 - Kandy - tortoise
Brass Tokens struck in London and issued in 1866, by company founded
in 1854 by Simon Keir, who was a planter in 1850 with partners
G. H. Dnndas and Captain John Keith Jolly. A large enterprise of
estate agents, general merchants and forwarding agents with office in
Kings Street, Kandy, Ceylon.
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| Lowsley #15 Pridmore #54 Mitchiner #2240a | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Obverse : | K. D. & Co. | in monogram within a beaded circle. |
| Reverse : | - A tortoise facing left, within a beaded circle. |
This token is always bored for suspension with a small circular hole above
the tortoise.
It was used at Uplands Mills, Mutwall, Colombo, where the
celebrated 200 year old tortoise lived.
The grounds are known to the natives as ``Arma Tortuni,''or
Tortoise Gardens.
The monogramed letters on the obverse stand for Keir, Dundas & Co.
See also the ship token and elephant token of the same firm. The three tokens beautifully designed by Captain C. E. H. Symons, late R.A. were struck in London.
With weight about 111 grains, they were tariffed at the usual
nominal value, viz., 4 1/2d. or 18 1/2 cents. and was
issued under similar conditions.
The tortoise design tokens were countermarked with letters stammed incuse
on the reverse in connection with the change in the name of the firm in 1866.
S for Symons and
KEIR, DUNDAS & CO. This firm was established in Kandy in 1854
as estate agents, general merchants and forwarding agents, the
original partners were :-
Reference
The coin was scanned at 300dpi and the images are displayed at
225dpi.
This specimen replaced one that I purchased in 2003 April
from a dealer in NY-USA, where the hole has been plugged with 0.2 grams of
brass by a previous owner. I was deciding if to unplug that, and have
now passed it onto another collector
Pridmore c/mkd above c/mkd below
P#55 S
P#56 S D
P#57 S DS
P#58 D
P#59 DS
Simon Keir, who was a planter in 1850
G. H. Dnndas and Captain John Keith Jolly.
The office was situated in Kings Street. The firm owned a large
number of coffee estates as well as acting as Agents for other
properties. So large was their enterprise that they were referred to
locally as the Kings of Kandy.
From 1864-66 the firm's resources were heavily strained
consequent upon the dislocation of trade at the close of the American
Civil War. Many fine properties changed hands at this period, and the
estates on which the firm had claims had no buyers. To protect these
claims, Keir Dundas & Co. bought in many properties including the
Upland Mills and the St. Sebastian Mills in Colombo. Their
committments became so large, that in the face of the collapse of
coffee, the firm had to transfer both assets and liabilities to London
supporters and the local business was taken over in 1866 under the
name of Duncan, Symons & Co., the partners being John Duncan and
C.E.H. Symons, late Licut. RA, Trincomalee. Symons was the designer of
the tokens which were struck in the last year of the firm's name, of
Keir Dundas & Co.
The new firm failed to weather the fierce financial storm of
1869-72, and in 1873 it went into liquidation, the establishment being
taken over by a firm styled Duncan, Anderson & Co.
* Coins and Tokens
of Ceylon, Lieut. Col B. Lowsley, Num. Chron. Sr III Vol. XV, 1895.
* The Coins of British Commonwealth of Nations to the end of the
reign of George VI 1952
Part 2 - Asian Territories by F. Pridmore Spink & Son Ltd., 1965.
Tokens
* Oriental Coins AD 600 - 1979 by Michael Mitchiner 1979
This AU condition coin was purchased in 2003 May
from a dealer in Colombo Lanka.