UPDATE

[John Winter]

There’s been an update to my blog post on Love Tokens from John Mills … I think you should take a look.

http://www.johnwinter.net/jw/?s=love+tokens

[grego]

Most interesting.

[digitup]

Ye enjoyed that john great read

[Chef Geoff]

The myth continues I'm one of those that holds no truck with the "love token" idea there are just too many, if every UK based detectorist counted up their William III sixpences the vast majority would be bent in to so called love tokens neither do I ascribe to the counterfeit checking theory as counterfeiting wasn't any greater during his reign and in fact a lot lower than it was in the times of monarchs that came after.
There is no documented evidence of double bending coins which is in itself strange given it's widespread practice in what appears to be a short lived "fashion".

Lets take a look and the much quoted rhyme:-

There was a crooked man _{(this obviously points to the widespread suffering from osteoporosis)} and he walked a crooked mile _{(no town planning back then)}
He found a crooked sixpence _{(love token? yeah right)} upon a crooked stile _{(thank God for the Ramblers Association)}
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse _{(animal welfare was atrocious in those days)}
And they all lived together in a little crooked house _{(overcrowded and substandard housing was rife)}

No I'm sorry it's not a social commentary put in rhyme

There is however a documented custom (superstition) from an earlier age of coins being bent when offering a prayer (wish) to a saint which is only an offshoot of the Romans offering coins in to water and us throwing coins into wishing wells so could they be just lucky charms though even this doesn't really explain why there are so many

In her book "Nummits and Crummits : Devonshire customs, characteristics, and folk-lore" published in 1900 Sarah Hewett lists things that bring good luck one of these is

[hotmill]

I've always wondered how the hell they bent them with their fingers! I've tried and it's damn near impossible to get an s shape, they must have used pliers or jammed them in into something to bend them.

[John Winter]

The myth continues ...

It's always interesting to hear another point of view and yours is especially interesting Geoff, as you offer another explanation.

Why so many? I can make a guess that so many are found on farmland - and especially prolific where fairs were held (perhaps a good place for young people to meet). Love tokens are usually very worn and thin, hotmill. Maybe that type were easier to bend.

Do the Welsh still have the custom of giving a wooden spoon as a love token, or is that another myth?

[david995]

just throwing this out there as well ..  could it be that they have been bent just by whatever ? plough , accident etc etc especially if it appears the thinner coins are bent

[Chef Geoff]

Do the Welsh still have the custom of giving a wooden spoon as a love token, or is that another myth?[/size]

Yes John and we all still wear flat caps, go to Chapel every Sunday and sing Cwm Rhondda as we march home from a days work down the pit
Is that a veiled insult?
I haven't found that they are more prolific in any one place fair site or otherwise and why would young people be wandering around with sixpences, yes these individuals would have been working and so had money but sixpence would have represented more than a days wage for most and if this was the case then you would expect a greater number of the lower denominations to be present

Will I did hear someone suggest that if you put them in a door jamb you can bend them easily

[John Winter]

Sorry Geoff. I am just engaging in discussion. Never for one moment am I out to insult anybody and If my comments are taken as such then I apologise to you and everyone else. I feel that it will be unwise of me to try and promote further discussion if my intentions are misinterpreted. I can see that you don't really know me.

I had read somewhere that, in the past, it was a Welsh custom for wooden spoons to be hand carved by young men hoping to impress a loved one. That's all.

[JohnF]

I made a wooden love spoon for my wife to give her on our wedding day. The gift shops around North wales have love spoons in all shapes and sizes for sale, so it would seem that the tradition still continues. Heres a link to a bit of background on lovespoons. http://www.welsh-love-spoons.co.uk/history
A very interesting read, John, on the love token theory, always enjoy reading your blog posts. Do you have any theories on folded medieval coins? I,ve had a couple off one field which seem to have been deliberately folded and I've seen others recorded by detectorists too.

[John Winter]

I made a wooden love spoon for my wife to give her on our wedding day. The gift shops around North wales have love spoons in all shapes and sizes for sale, so it would seem that the tradition still continues. Heres a link to a bit of background on lovespoons. http://www.welsh-love-spoons.co.uk/history
A very interesting read, John, on the love token theory, always enjoy reading your blog posts. Do you have any theories on folded medieval coins? I,ve had a couple off one field which seem to have been deliberately folded and I've seen others recorded by detectorists too.

Thanks for the reply John ... and the link. Good to see that the tradition still continues.
I don't have any theories about the coins. Sorry.

[Radnor Bandit (Ian)]

. Do you have any theories on folded medieval coins? I,ve had a couple off one field which seem to have been deliberately folded and I've seen others recorded by detectorists too.
[/quote

We had this come up in our recent talk.  Apparently in the days before pockets, coins would have been bent around a length of twine therefore enabling the coins to be carried more safely if the owner was to poor too even own a purse.
The twine could then be tied around the neck or wrist. Obviously it wasn't foolproof.

[Dungbeetle]

I found a William sixpence folded into love token a few weeks ago and it's engraved with the letters JJ. I've got a couple of other ones that are engraved with initials too, any ideas why ?  I've also found a Henry viii half groat made into a love token an a couple of Lizzies similar.

[JohnF]

[quote author=Radnor Bandit (Ian)

We had this come up in our recent talk.  Apparently in the days before pockets, coins would have been bent around a length of twine therefore enabling the coins to be carried more safely if the owner was to poor too even own a purse.
The twine could then be tied around the neck or wrist. Obviously it wasn't foolproof.
[/quote]
Sounds very plausible. Thanks for the reply.

[dingdong]

Many thanks for a very intreaging and fascinating article. I have been fortunate enough to find an example of this but never understood the story behind it,great bit of research, well done.😁