1821 St Helena Halfpenny – aEF & Scarce

British East India Company

In 1815, the exiled Napoleon’s arrival boosted the St. Helena economy, doubling the island’s population with his entourage and British troops, sparking prosperity. To sustain this growth, £50,000 in dollars was dispatched by the Company in 1819. St. Helena enjoyed its peak prosperity during this time. However, by 1821, plans were underway for two specific copper coinages for the island.

Production of currency

The first, unofficial issue stemmed from Solomon, Dickson, and Taylor, local merchants. Subsequently, instructions were forwarded to England for the production of 70,560 halfpenny tokens. Simultaneously, the Court of Directors of the Honourable East India Company in England took charge of the second issue. They enlisted the Mint of Matthew Robinson Boulton, near Birmingham, to mint a copper coinage worth £1,000, yielding 702,704 halfpenny pieces.

Decline of necessity

Yet, before either coinage reached St. Helena, Napoleon passed away on May 5, 1821, prompting the departure of many troops, officers, civil servants, and their families. Consequently, the demand for halfpenny pieces fell short of expectations. By 1830, surplus East India Company copper coins were returned to England for melting.

Despite these setbacks, the halfpennies remained in circulation on the island and were accepted by all parties, challenging the notion of failure. Such resilience and practicality likely appealed to the struggling East India Company, grappling with silver coin supply issues on St. Helena.