Bonjour, jeton britannique :
To J.PALMER.Esq THIS IS INSCRIBED AS A TOKEN OF GRATITUDE FOR BENEFITS RECE'D FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MAIL COACHES JF The initials are probably those of James Fittler, who is also known to have engraved a portrait of Palmer.
Reverse: MAIL COACH HALFPENNY.TO TRADE EXPEDITION
& TO PROPERTY PROTECTION. PAYABLE IN LONDON·
Palmer was the eldest son of a prosperous Bath brewer and theatre owner. Palmer worked as his father's London agent, frequently travelling between his theatres in London and Bath.. Palmer had to move his actors, stagehands and props quickly between Bristol and Bath, he set up a coach service which provided safe, quick and efficient transport for his actors and materials.
The postal delivery service in Britain had existed in the same form for about 150 years—from its introduction in 1635, mounted carriers had ridden between "posts" where the postmaster would remove the letters for the local area before handing the remaining letters and any additions to the next rider. The riders were frequent targets for robbers, and the system was inefficient.
Because Palmer made much use of stagecoach services between cities in the course of his business, it occurred to him that this coach service could be developed into a national mail delivery service, so in 1782 he suggested to the Post Office in London that they take up the idea.After some opposition eventually the Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Pitt, agreed. Under the old system the journey had taken up to 38 hours. The coach, funded by Palmer, took just 16 hours.
https://www.englishcoppercoins.com/
