Convict coins
1813 & 1817
Beneath the floors of the convict sleeping wards of Hyde Park Barracks, and in the ground, archaeologists found this 1813 Holey dollar dump and 1817 George III farthing, as well as a 1797 Cartwheel penny, shillings and halfpennies from the 1800s-1810s, and George IV pennies, farthings and halfpennies from the 1820s.
This early colonial currency tells us that all kinds of coins changed convict hands at the Barracks. Having earned a few coins by selling cabbage tree hats, selling parts of their uniforms, trading rations, or gambling, convicts found coins useful for bribing overseers to turn a ‘blind eye’, and for the scourger to ‘go easy’ on them when being flogged. Convicts also used coins to buy tobacco and smoking pipes, and for their amusement as tokens in gambling games such as ‘chuckpenny’, ‘pitch and toss’ or ‘tossing halfpence’.
...scores of convicts are actually amusing themselves a great part of the day by playing pitch and toss.
Sydney Gazette, 24 February 1835. 2
More artefacts
Convict Sydney
Objects
These convict-era objects and archaeological artefacts found at Hyde Park Barracks and The Mint (Rum Hospital) are among the rarest and most personal artefacts to have survived from Australia’s early convict period
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Convict Sydney
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Convict Sydney
Clock-winding crank
This sturdy crank was used for many years to wind the Hyde Park Barracks clock
Convict Sydney
Hack barrow
Convict brickmakers working at the Brickfields (now Haymarket) used hack barrows like this one, stacking 20 or 30 wet bricks on the timber palings along the top, for transporting them from the moulding table to the ‘hack’ yard for drying
Convict Sydney
Cupping glasses & scarificator
These cupping glasses are of the type that was used in the treatment of convict patients at the General ‘Rum’ Hospital
Convict Sydney
Love token, Smith
Joseph Smith arrived in New South Wales in April 1818, while Hyde Park Barracks was under construction
Convict Sydney
Cartwheel penny
This 1797 'Cartwheel Penny' was found by archaeologists beneath the floors of the convict sleeping wards of Hyde Park Barracks
Convict Sydney
Brass stamp
Between 1830 and 1848, the superintendent’s office operated from the Hyde Park Barracks, where this stamp was most likely used, on official documents and ledgers
Convict Sydney
Love token, Daws
James Daws was convicted of stealing pennies (coins) in late 1825 or early 1826
Convict Sydney
Love token, Donovan
This very detailed token was probably made by a nineteen year old called Cornelius Donovan
Convict Sydney
What was convict assignment?
‘Assignment’ meant that a convict worked for a private landowner
Convict Sydney
Love token, Woodcock
The simple lettering on this love token with his name on it suggests that John Woodcock may have engraved it himself, while he awaited his transportation