The Horse and Groom

James Smith, a soap boiler, issued this trade token, worth a farthing, for his business in St John Street.

Boyne & Williamson (1889) reference London number 2584; Obv inscription: IAM.SMITH.SOPE.BOYLR (around field, in Roman capitals) Device = A horse and groom (in field); Rev inscription: IN.ST.IOHN.STREET (around field, in Roman capitals) Device = I.M.S. (triad of initials in Roman capitals, in field).

See also token number 7973 in the Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles, 62, The Norweb Collection: Tokens of the British Isles 1575-1750, Part VIII - Middlesex and Uncertain Pieces. St John Street ran from the parish of Clerkenwell, Middlesex to the ward of Farringdon Without, in the City of London, the southern end in the City of London, was demolished in the 19th century, see Henry A. Harben, A Dictionary of London (London, 1918), p.325.