Llandeilo Antiques and Vintage Fair springs back into action
This successful fair has grown in popularity over the last year and can be located in the heart of Llandeilo, close to the main car park.Here you will find a bustling, vibrant Fair with lots of antiques and vintage to whet your appetite and now includes a vintage element with a touch of retro.it will be held on Saturday 6 th April at the Civic Hall.
Being a Welsh Fair it is understandable that there should be a good selection of Welsh items on offer. Whether it’s an original Welsh watercolour or oil painting or a piece of Welsh pottery or examples of Welsh textiles.There will also be a selection of Welsh blankets and textiles on display , the result of Wales having a rich heritage , in the woollen industry.
There are some interesting displays to be discovered at the fair whether it’s a rare postcard , a collection of old photographs or an unusual love token. One of the dealers Allys Gronow has a superb collection of these special coins.
Love tokens are coins that were engraved after the minting process was complete. Generally, an artisan removed the words and images from the reverse, or sometimes from both sides.Artisans ranging in skills from a high-quality craftsperson to a “do-it-yourselfer” then engraved or punched pictures, initials, and messages on the cleared area.
Other times, the coin was left intact and the artisan engraved initials, dates, or pictures on the edges around the images of royalty. The coins became lucky charms, objects of art, and pieces of jewellery. The messages on the coins could be used as spiritual reminders, family documentation, or sentimental sweet nothings.
In Britain, the practice of giving ‘love tokens’ has been around from at least Roman times, mudlarking expeditions on the Thames river banks have often uncovered bent or bowed coins ranging from as far back as the 16th century. The breaking of gold and coins were often included as part of the marriage ceremonial contract, but ardent suitors would often bend the coins and present them to the lady they wished to court as a symbol of the strength of their love, affection and intent.
Even though clipping, defacement and other wilful damage of coins was a treasonable offense , some took a risk by presenting a bowed or bent coin to their lady love. If the love token was accepted, that meant the suitor was successful; if they were discarded, it was a rejection. It has been surmised that many of the ‘crooked coins’ found on the banks of the River Thames — most of the surviving ones are from the 17th and 18th centuries — carry legacies of unrequited love. Often in these coins, the head of the monarch would be rubbed clean and initials of the giver or/and the intended would be engraved. Some of those accepted would even be worn as a pendant or incorporated into jewellery to be worn close to one’s person. The bent coin, “a token of your pledge,” became a physical reminder of your obligation.
Because love tokens were hand-engraved, they are unique. The birth of a baby, the initial of your intended, a soldier leaving a memory of himself with his loved ones, or a prisoner getting sent off to do his time; all have been remembered on the surface of a coin.
Around the 19th century, such love tokens/coins took on an additional meaning as they “were created by convicted Britons before they were transported to Australia.Smoothed coins engraved with affectionate messages were gifted to loved ones by convicts awaiting execution and transportation. These mementos of affection were often known as ‘leaden hearts’.
Love tokens tell stories that begin with the words, images, and initials engraved on the coins and are completed only by the limits of our own imaginations.
Other methods of making coins into tokens included cutting coins and “pinpunching” (a stippled technique that employed a hammer and point). Free
hand engraving may date as early as the 1500s in Great Britain
It is difficult to place an exact date on a love token. How do you distinguish the date the art work was engraved on the coin? The age of the token is not necessarily the year the coin was manufactured, which is sometimes still on the coin. Nor is it necessarily the date engraved on the coin, which might be a significant date to the engraver and not the date the engraver re-carved the coin. It is a good thing that most collectors of love tokens are more interested in the quality of the carving and the sentiment of the words than the date or monetary value of the coin.
But these little objects are also passports to another time. In the hands of historians, they illuminate different facets of Georgian society – from courtship, entertainment and fashion to empire and belief
Interestingly enough, a significant number of the copper and nickel coins that were engraved were also gold plated. A poor person might have used this denomination and then by gold plating them, made them look like their gold counterpoint coins. Whatever the host coin, the feelings and emotions were the same. Some could just afford to show their love more than others. People were quite sentimental in the Victorian age and love tokens are an enduring testament to
those feelings.What stories do these love tokens tell, and the sentiment behind the giver whether it was a mothers last gift to her foundling child or a token of betrothal? These little gems of history are a great area to start collecting in.Most collectors are looking for sharp engravings and unusual pictures .Allys has a great collection on display.
The Llandeilo fair is full of exciting collections from Llanelli cockeral plates to the rare Wemys ware and including collections of French brocante .
Attractive displays of gardinalia has proved extremely popular at the fair, including watering cans , wheel barrows, garden tools and large garden pots and urns.
The Llandeilo fair has a rich cross section of antiques and vintage on display, from jewellery,watches, books, ephemera, militaria and vintage clothes and accessories. There will also be collections of glass and up cycled and pre loved furniture, plus interior design pieces. I’m sure visitors will not be disappointed with the selection on offer at this popular fair.
Homemade refreshments will be available and doors open at 10 am until 4pm. Admission is just £2