Decided to hunt the bay where the passenger ferry lands. Most of the parking close to the wharf costs $2 so my aim was to park in the free but restricted 1/2hr carpark and do a quick hunt to find the $2 coin needed then park in the pay parks after which I would continue to hunt as long as I liked.
I failed!
No $2 coin showed! But instead I found 1/2 an old wharf spike (big square shaft nail) and a foot away a 1857 traders token. In the 1850's the bay was owned by the Alison family and farmed, the house is still there, was a pub when I came to Wahieke but now contains various businesses. Also around this time New Zealand was very short of coinage and some shops minted tokens to get around this shortage. Mark Somerville started up as a grocer at a property in Auckland in the late 1840's and ended up becoming bankrupt in 1868, sounds like he had a rocky 20 years. Some quick work on the computer looking at old newspapers also told me what he stocked in his shop and what he brought across on ships from England & Aust. His shop would have been one of the closest grocers for Waiheke residents, with a boat trip across the strait (surprisingly most pioneers rowed the 25km - it can get very rough).
So not only do I know the history of the token, but also most probable family to have used it last and dropped it until I came along 154 years later to pluck it out of the ground.
I did scratch it while levering out compacted shingle in the hole, but I don't plan on selling so am not worried about its worth. Despite its condition I consider it a neat find! Unfortunately the Pay & Park booth wouldn't accept it....... (just kidding).
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« Last Edit: March 25, 2011, 07:01:20 pm by Islandpaddler »
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