1856 James Swan & Co.,
Marandhan Store, Colombo, Ceylon
A Token struck by James Swan & Co. in 1856 for use in Marandhan Store, Colombo, Ceylon.
SPECIFICATIONSAlloyBrassDiameter32 mmThickness mmWeight10.49 gmsShaperoundEdgePlainDieAxisO°Lowsley #Unlisted Pridmore #p99
Obverse :MARANDHAN STORE
JAS SWAN & CO
Store building
1856
¤ COLOMBO CEYLON ¤Top and bottom lines along periphery, between plain circle and raised rim.Reverse : Same
JAMES SWAN & Co. From an early directory it is found that J. Swan was a planter in 1845 on an estate called Morankande, Harispattu, in Central Province. In 1848 he had joined a firm styled Swan, Keir & Co. In 1849 he was the Secretary of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce but in 1850 was its Chairman. In 1855 he was living at Marandhan and, as the Marandhan token bears the date 1856, he seems by then to have carried on business under his own name as James Swan & Co.
See also the JAMES SWAN & Co. - ST SEBASTIAN MILLS token.
Reference
* 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
Image of token of Pridmore Collection from B&W print scanned ex Dick Ford Collection (1995 Feb 23 Taisei-Baldwin-Gillio Auction#19 lot #289 part), and colorized with Photo-Shop. Displayed at 200 dpi.
