Cheshire, Macclesfield, Roe & Co, Westwood’s Penny, 1790, in bronzed-copper, bust of Charles Roe right, rev. seated figure of Genius holding drill and cog-wheel, edge plain, 26.43g/6h (DH 3). Practically as struck, rare (£250-300)

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of 18th Century Tokens formed by Dr David L Spence.

View
Collection

Provenance:
Fawcett/Litman Collection.

Charles Roe (1715-81), entrepreneur in the silk and copper trades; as early as 1743 he had built his first water-powered mill in the town and within two decades Macclesfield had become the nation’s main centre for silk production. The reverse design was taken from the monument to Roe in Christ Church, Macclesfield, the edifice he built in 1775. He died in May 1781 and left a widow, Rachel, and ten children. For more detail on Roe’s mining interests, see Smith, CTCJ Spring 2002, pp.21-4