Hi friends! I’m so excited to welcome back author, Heather Moll to Austenesque Reviews today! ✨
And you know what that means! Time to learn more about Regency and Georgian jewelry. 💍
In the past, Heather has shared about toi et moi rings, memorial rings, acrostic rings, and lover’s eyes. 💎
And today, Heather is here to share about a different type of love token which is featured in her new novel – Her Affections and Wishes! 🪙
We hope you enjoy! ☺️
Thank you for the warm welcome to talk about Her Affections and Wishes! Some of you know I put apiece of jewelry into my books. Sometimes they’re plot points and sometimes they’re romantic gifts. Years ago, my editor found a picture of a Georgian-era coin with one side smoothed and a love poem engraved on the other. It had a bail to turn it into a pendant. She said, “Can you put this in a book?”
It turns out, these love tokens were popular through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. So, of course I had to put it in a book! And when I started plotting Her Affections and Wishes and needed jewelry, it’s time had finally come.
Love tokens are legal coins that have been smoothed on one or both sides and then engraved. They’ve existed in Britain since the Roman period. The engravings typically include initials, names, dates, or more intricate designs such as sayings or pictures. These pieces were the sort of deeply personal and sentimental behavior typical of the Georgians.
Although initials or dates were most common, short poems or romantic lines or drawings were also chosen. They could be simple tokens made on impulse by a vendor at a fair for one’s sweetheart, or more elaborately engraved by a jeweler. You’ll have to read Her Affections and Wishes to see how the one Darcy gets for Elizabeth is made.
Be warned, these examples won’t be as sparkly as other jewelry you’ve seen from me.
This inscription on a holed George III halfpenny reads “Dear Mary When this you see think of me when I am far away T G”
This coin was smoothed and engraved on both sides. The obverse says, “No heart so true as mine to you” around a flaming heart pierced diagonally by two arrows. The reverse says “Sweet the love that meets return” around two kissing doves.
This token one with a damaged hole says “My heart never will be at Ease Till our hearts and hands be joind like these” above two overlapping hearts and two clasped hands. The obverse says “Health & Love S A” above a hand and a heart.
Love tokens didn’t have to be worn. They could have been kept whole and carried close. Sometimes, as a gesture of fidelity, a man might bend an unengraved or an engraved coin into a crooked coin. Now the coin is bent into an S-shape and cannot be used, further demonstrating his devotion and becomes an amulet one carries with them. This silver sixpence of George II, dated 1758, has been bent into the shape of an S.
In Her Affections and Wishes, Darcy took a coin Elizabeth gave him at the Epsom races and had it bent into a token and had another coin engraved and set to be worn as a necklace for her.
“I have something for you. I forgot to give it to you yesterday after your accident. If my asking you to marry me
is not proof enough, perhaps this will persuade you that my attraction and love for you is steadfast and of a long duration.”
He handed her a half-crown, with its obverse smoothed and with a hole through it, hanging on a silver chain.
She ran a finger across it as it dangled from his hand. “Was this the half-crown I gave you as payment for my gaming debts?”
“No, I put that specific coin to better use and had it made into something for me.” He drew out that coin that the silversmith bent into a gentle s-shaped curve. “You did not give it to me as a symbol, but I took it as one.”
“You made a love token out of it?” she said with a soft smile. “But now you cannot spend it.”
“That is the point. It proves that I would rather have you than money, a vow to value you above anything else. Besides,” he continued, “I can afford to deface some coins and pay someone to do it because I won at the races yesterday. Octavius won by half a neck and I won thirty guineas at the Derby, and do you know why?”
“You know horses and are skilled at calculating odds?”
He laughed. “No, the jockey wore green, and that is the colour you chose on Tuesday. I told you it was a sound method. Mr Travers ought to adopt it.”
“A fine strategy,” she said with a laugh. “Now you are a rich man.”
Darcy shook his head. “I am richer this week because I have you in my life, not because of any wagers.”
He put the bent token back into his pocket and held out the coin on the chain to her. She took it and turned it over. Most love tokens had the couple’s initials, or the date of a wedding. The half-crown was large enough for a longer inscription, and Elizabeth read it aloud.
You’ll have to read the book to see that Darcy chose to engrave on his love token for Elizabeth. A half-crown is a large coin—he’s pretty romantic.
The fad died out over the Victorian era as silver was perceived as cheap compared to gold, and photography’s widespread use meant you could just carry a loved one’s image.
What do you think of these portable and personal reminders of affection? Would you deface a coin to demonstrate your devotion?
I love the idea of Mr. Darcy making a sentimental treasure for himself! 🪙
And I love that he had something made for Elizabeth too and that it is romantic… 💕
All images are from the British Museum
https://www.londonmuseum.org.uk/blog/valentines-love-tokens-from-bent-coins-to-whales-tooth/
https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/love-tokens-where-cold-hard-cash-and-romance-meet
https://www.perfectlittleparcel.com/post/victorian-love-tokens
© The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.
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~ GIVEAWAY TIME!!! ~
In conjunction with her blog tour, Heather brings with her a lovely prize pack to give away to one lucky winner!!
- a paperback copy of the book Her Affections and Wishes
- some snazzy bookish pencils
- a love token they can give to someone just like Darcy gave to Elizabeth that reads “Always know how much I love you.”
To enter this giveaway leave a comment, a question, or some love for Heather below!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Heather!
- This giveaway ends September 18th!
This sounds lovely! It’s always so interesting to me to read about the customs back in the day and I especially admire love tokens. My sister gave me an engraved love token for my wedding day to my beloved husband nearly 20 years ago and it’s still a beautiful gesture. I very much look forward to reading this book, congratulations Heather!
What a lovely gesture! And how fitting for a wedding.
I always appreciate learning some new-to-me tidbit of Regency culture, incorporated in a book by an author who has done the research on that topic. Looking forward to reading this sometime soon!
So pleased you found it interesting! I hope you enjoy the book!
What a romantic Darcy you depict! I definitely want to read this story. I hope to get very lucky.
Who knew Darcy was a secret romantic?? Good luck in the giveaway!
Thanks for this post. I am a huge history nerd and I love hearing about the history that isn’t taught in school, and I really enjoy how you find a way to work it into your stories. I’m headed to the beach in a little over a week and this one is at the top of my to-read list.
Isn’t it fun when interesting tidbits just fit perfectly into a story? Enjoy your beach vacation!
I am loving the notion of love tokens.
Me too!! And they fit perfectly with this story.
I love the idea of being able to keep sweet sentiments close by especially when that “special someone” isn’t nearby to me. If I lived back then I think I’d have made a token for a loved one and hopefully they’d have made one for me too!
The Georgians sure loved their sentimental jewelry! Maybe we need to bring love tokens back?
Thank you Heather! I really enjoyed the information you shared about Love Tokens. Such a lovely idea.
So glad you found it interesting! They’re not super shiny, but I do love the sentiment behind them.
I think it’s such a sweet gesture and look forward to learning more about Darcy’s token to Elizabeth.
Darcy’s love poem won’t disappoint, I promise!
Gaming debts! Shame Elizabeth. But Darcy comes through. Thank you for the giveaway.
The “gaming debts” make sense in context—I promise she’s not a gamester! Just the equivalent of a $2 bet on a horse you picked because you liked the jockey’s silks.
Looking forward to reading. Thanks.
So glad it piqued your interest! Good luck in the giveaway!
Fun new information to have, and I look forward to reading the book!
Aren’t they interesting pieces? Not shiny, but very sentimental.
That is so cool about the love tokens. I love learning historical tidbits. The book looks fab and I am looking forward to it. Some friends have already given it five stars.
Thank you!! And I’m grateful the book is doing well.
Now I’m going to lose sleep pondering what the engraving said! Lol. Guess I have to read the book. Well done, you! Luckily, it will be no hardship, and I’m looking forward to it!!
LOL I’m glad it enticed you, and Darcy comes up with some romantic lines, so probably worth the read.
Oh, darcy commissioning love tokens is so romantic!
Isn’t he so swoony!? Who knew the tall proud man was so romantic?
Love this historical tidbit and love your stories where you sprinkle things like this along with your amazing writing
Can’t wait to read this!
I love getting to fit in a historical tidbit! So glad you appreciate them, too.
Those are such cool tokens of affection.
Aren’t they sweet? So simple yet so meaningful.
I love the tokens – the use of coins at fairs and carnivals as memorabilia is still done. On our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband and I (both in the military) were deployed on an exercise in Kyoto Japan. He worked day shift, me night. We had visited a reproduction of a historic castle and in the gift shop was a machine that impressed coins with the date/location. We were married 50 years in January and still have that token.
I look forward to the book – congratulations to the lucky winner
Oh, I love this story!! How sweet. And congratulations on your anniversary!
A lovely idea! Maybe we should start using coins again for that purpose!
Right? There’s something to sweet about the gesture.
Definitely an awesome sounding token!
Darcy did good, that’s for sure. Who knew he was so romantic?
Those tokens are really cool! I’ve never seen pictures of any before so I’m glad to see these.
Having a visual helps me, too! These aren’t as shiny as some of the stuff I usually share, but there’s something sweet about them.
I love the idea of changing a coin into something to cherish. My husband and I have gifted tokens to each other over the years. The last one I gifted him was on a guitar pick (he makes guitars as a hobby).
I love this gesture! That’s so sweet. And how cool that he makes guitars for fun!
Thank you for the information about the love token as I was not aware of it. It would be wonderful to have the love token attached to a set of keys. I like how you Heather used it to describe to Elizabeth what she means to him.
I’m so glad you liked his token. When Austen writes how Darcy told her of feelings that proved of what importance she was to him, I always wish we had more details about that. Best of luck in the giveaway!
I have never heard of this tradition. I really love the love tokens. I look forward to reading your new book
Thanks Shanon! I hope you enjoy it!
I didn’t know these were so common in previous centuries. Prior to my engagement (in the early ‘70s) my husband gave me a Mercury head dime with the head cut around so it was surrounded by a circle of silver and made into a pendant. He said here is your dime, now you only have to wait for the ‘mond, which I did get on a ring six months later. It was a sweet romantic token and I still have it over 52 years later. *Sigh* Now I must read this book and see Elizabeth get hers.
Oh wow, that’s so sweet, I loved reading that, thanks for sharing this sweet tidbit with us!
Awww!! Gosh, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve head. How lovely.
I’d not heard of this before. It seems a very romantic way to express one’s feelings.
Such a simple way to share a really personal feeling, right?
This is lovely! I’d love to receive it! I do have two of her audiobooks: Loving Miss Tilney and
Two More Days at Netherfield
Thank you! I have hopes of making this one into an audiobook too if it does well in ebook first. Fingers crossed!
I’m glad to see what the coins/tokens look like, because I couldn’t quite picture it when I was reading the book. It seemed like a lot of text to fit on a coin!
A half crown is a large coin. I’ll find a pic and share it in my newsletter!
Thank you for always making your books an experience not just a story to read.
Oh this brightened my day so much!! Thank you!!
I love how she intertwines jewelry for us to learn about
I’m so happy you get a kick out of it! I have fun doing it
I’m so happy you enjoy it! I have a good time researching them and finding a place for them in a book
What an interesting post! I hadn’t seen one of these coin love tokens before.
Aren’t they cool? Not the shiniest but they sure share a lot of feelings
I love it when Darcy and Elizabeth get together early and his love token to her is lovely and very romantic.
Wasn’t it a sweet gift? Perfect for the moment they were in. Thank you again for reading it!
The cover is beautiful! I’m looking forward to reading your newest book.
Thank you!! Didn’t the designer do such a good job on the cover?
Would love to win this book!
Good luck in the giveaway!
I enjoyed learning about the love tokens, and am looking forward to reading this!
So glad you found it interesting Liz!
Thank you for sharing this post love the cover of your book it sounds amazing would love to win!
Isn’t the cover lovely? Thanks so much!
These remind me of the ID bracelets of the 70s and 80s. (Yes, I am dating myself!) They were usually a silver (or silver-ish) chain link bracelet with a panel that could be engraved with a girl’s name, initials, etc. But they were most known as a gift from a boyfriend, so the engraving could also be a brief romantic message. Hoping to win the book so I can see what Darcy engraved!
Isn’t it interesting how the more things change, the more they stay the same. We’re still sentimental romantics!
Heather, all of your writing is first class, thank you for sharing your gift with us. You are one of the few authors I don’t need to try before I buy and I love how much I learn about the Georgian period through your books. Looking forward to reading this one. I save yours for special occasions because I already anticipate being sad when it is over and now that I have read all of your back catalogue, I have to wait for you to write the next one!
You have no idea how much this comment brightened my day. Janine! Author life has its hard moments, but knowing that you’re enjoying my books so much keeps my at my keyboard. Thank you!
I’ve never heard of this tradition but it’s really sweet! I think it would still be sweet even now!
Isn’t there something sweet and sentimental about it? Such a sweet gesture!
This is such a fabulously romantic thing! I’ve never heard of love token coins like these, but they’re so sweet and swoony. And Darcy making one? Oh yes. This I need to read! 😀
Aren’t they sweet? Such a simple thing, but when Darcy thinks to make one AND adds a love poem? Swoon!
I love reading your newsletter! I think Darcy as a pirate sounds intriguing! He would make a dashing pirate!
I’m so happy you’re a subscriber!! Thank you! And I’ll tell my husband he’s got another vote for the pirate premise lol
I love the historical facts that you teach us on top of the delightful stories!
I’m thrilled you find these tidbits interesting!!
I have to say this one of the most enjoyable, memorable, interesting, knowledgeable, yet romantic posts i’ve ever read. Thank you so much for sharing! I’d never heard of it before. I love coins and jewelry but i never do research about older items. How unique! I hope i get to read this book sometime.
I’m so glad you found it interesting! I was surprised to learn about them and thrilled I found the right book to put it in.
Congratulations to Cindie! She was the randomly selected winner across all the blogs. Thank you to everyone for commenting and for your enthusiasm for Her Affections and Wishes!