Obv: Arms of Stafford, STAFFORD above, 1801 below. Rev: A cypher W H, Staffordshire knot below. Edge: PAYABLE AT HORTON AND COMPANY.
Uncirculated and sharply struck. Signs of old cleaning but mostly retoned. Penny. Scarce.
The reverse cypher W H refers to William Horton, who built a factory for boot and shoe manufacturing in Stafford. The obverse shows Stafford Castle, built in Norman times. The Staffordshire knot probably dates to the middle-ages and Celtic Christian symbology. There is a popular legend of its genesis which tells of three convicts who were arguing about who would be hung first. The executioner then came up with the Stafford knot and they were all hung at the same time.