British penny; courting custom

[villa66]

I’d seen an Italian copper incorporated into a miniature skillet, and it reminded me of an entry in my coin-notebook:

These 1826 pennies were the last of the George IV pennies coined for domestic circulation. (The 1827 pennies were coined for use in Australia.)

Geraldine Paulsen’s “Curios” column in the June 1936 issue of Hobbies carries an interesting entry: “The English in the [18-] ‘forties and ‘fifties had a courting custom as interesting as our [American] old-time ‘Bundling.’ It was proper then when young people became engaged for the young man to place a small kettle beaten out of a penny on his fiancée’s breakfast table. Every part of this little domestic article was made from one coin, and when presented it sealed the engagement.”

It is plain that this appealingly brown 1826 penny was lucky enough to avoid that fate, but it seems like it would have been an ideal candidate for the honor. It would, after all, have been a common birth-year for folks of marriage-age during that time.

I wonder, was there a similar custom in Deutschland?

v.

[KarlAntonMartini]

In Germany we had no similiar big copper coins, this custom couldn't develop thus. - I have a kettle made of a Penny and a Farthing in my collection, but it will not fit in the scanner... - Best regards, KarlAntonMartini

[villa66]

Guess I'm guilty of thinking of Germany in the 1840s and '50s in the expansive sense, before Austria got left at curbside. I thought maybe in the south that some of those big coppers might have gotten pulled into something like this, or who knows, maybe some of the low-fineness state silver that was so prevalent. Disappointment!

But am most happy to hear that you actually have one of these kettles. Have to confess I had some doubts when I read the old article. Seemed like a lot of difficult work.

If you wouldn't mind, could you please tell me if you can identify the type of coins used, or perhaps even their dates?

v.

[KarlAntonMartini]

Certainly Austria had some bigger copper coins. But I think these kettles are a genuine british idea. There is an article about love-token and the kettles in a copy of the TCS-Bulletin. I will look for it and produce further information. Best regards, KarlAntonMartini

[KarlAntonMartini]

If you wouldn't mind, could you please tell me if you can identify the type of coins used, or perhaps even their dates?

v.

The kettle was made of five parts, three of them coins: the bottom (a veiled-head victorian Halfpenny), the top (a veiled-head victorian Penny) and the lid (a George IV Farthing). The side is made from a copper seamless tube, the spout from a copper tubule. The dates are unfortunally not visible. Best regards, KarlAntonMartini

[villa66]

Danke, KAM, for taking the trouble to let me know. Puts the activity--or maybe just the culture's awareness of the activity--some 30 or more years beyond the dates (1840s-1850s) quoted in that old article. Thanks again.

v.