2016-07-29 Fri

Special “convict love tokens” from the 18th and 19th centuries were celebrated on a series of coins issued by the Royal Australian Mint. These special tokens were given to families in England after their loved ones had to quit the country and settle in Australia and other places after they were convicted for crimes.

The National Museum of Australia has the biggest collection of these tokens which were also known as ‘laden hearts’. Convicts used to leave a memento behind for their loved ones in England before they left the country and they reflect personal and emotional responses from convicts.

These tokens bore names of the convicts and their loved ones along with the length of the convict’s sentence and interesting quotes on separation. The inscriptions were made by using a series of small pricks by both professionals as well as amateurs.

Three of these new one-dollar coins together cost $65.00 as a set. One of the reverses features a typical heart and arrow symbol with the line ‘Forget Me Not’. The second one features a Gaol Bird and the third one features the line “When This You See Remember Me”.

The obverses feature the common portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, with the inscriptions ELIZABETH II, AUSTRALIA 2016, and 1 DOLLAR.