The 1783 ‘Unity States’ Washington & Independence Token is a well-known, widely collected colonial token, struck at Bolton’s Soho Mint in Birmingham, England, for commercial sale in the United States.
These pieces are classified as tokens rather than official federal coinage because the United States Mint hadn’t yet been established. So, private English manufacturers produced coin-like pieces for use in the American colonies and early United States for roughly a century, with the most concentrated period spanning from the late 17th century through the early 19th century. These coins were made to fill in the coinage gap present in the country only. Examples include Rosa Americana Coins, Washington Virginia Coin, and others.
By the middle of the 19th Century, the 1783 ‘Unity States’ Washington & Independence Token was still in circulation in many of the original colonies of the United States. The Coinage Act of 1857 ended the legal tender status of foreign coins, further standardizing U.S. federal coinage. In 1792, the United States Mint was established. By the early 19th century, U.S. domestic minting became more stable, reducing reliance on foreign-made tokens.
Design Details
The 1783 ‘Unity States’ Washington & Independence Tokens were struck on striated planchets, which resulted in rough edges. As the edges were filed, the coins acquired a “circulated” appearance. It is thought that “UNITY” was a misspelling of “UNITED” and the legend on the reverse should have read “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” as opposed to “UNITY STATES OF AMERICA.”
The token combines imagery of George Washington with symbolic references to the newly independent states. The 1783 ‘Unity States’ Washington & Independence Token has a bust of George Washington that looks remarkably similar to the 1783 George Washington Draped Bust Tokens. The obverse depicts a left-facing bust of George Washington, wearing a laurel wreath on his head, a toga, and “WASHINGTON & INDEPENDENCE” across the upper periphery and the date “1783” below the bust.
George Washington objected to having his portrait placed on coinage because he believed it resembled European monarchical traditions, which conflicted with the “republic” principles of the new United States. An Act of Congress approved April 7, 1866 (14 Stat. 43) established that: no portrait or likeness of any living person shall be placed upon any bonds, securities, notes, fractional or postal currency of the United States. Although the statute specifically mentions paper obligations (notes, bonds, currency), the policy was applied broadly to U.S. coinage as well, reinforcing the long-standing republican tradition of not depicting living persons. George Washington passed away on December 14, 1799, and these coins were likely minted after.
The reverse depicts a laurel wreath as the central vignette, with the words “ONE CENT” on two lines. The motto “UNITY STATES OF AMERICA” around the upper periphery and below the wreath is the denomination expressed as a fraction “1/100”.
The date 1783 refers to the year the Treaty of Paris was signed, formally recognizing American independence rather than the date of manufacturing. So, the ‘Unity States’ Washington & Independence Token was likely minted from 1820 to 1840. The edges on these tokens are all plain. The surfaces generally have striations, but the color can range from a brassy yellow to a chocolate brown to a fiery red. The mintages are unknown, but the token is fairly plentiful in circulated grades.
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