Item number: A1167

Year: AD 1817-1833

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.3 x 24.3 x 1.2 mm

Weight: 5.55 g

Provenance: Morton & Eden 2024

This is a token issued by the British East India Company in London during the first half of the 19th century for recruiting soldiers. The centre of the obverse features the company’s lion emblem, with the lion standing on its hind legs and holding a crown in its front paws. Surrounding the emblem is a wreath, with the outermost edge engraved with the English inscription “WANTED FINE YOUNG MEN.”

The reverse side of the token is similarly decorated with a wreath, within which is engraved “NO 35 SOHO SQUARE LONDON,” indicating the address of the recruitment department in London. Encircling the wreath is the inscription “EAST INDIA RECRUITING DEPARTT,” denoting the East India Company’s recruitment division.

The British East India Company was founded in AD 1600, having been granted a royal charter to conduct trade centred on India and across Asia. The company was also empowered to recruit military forces, both in Britain and the Indian subcontinent, to maintain its rule. However, in AD 1857, a large-scale rebellion broke out among Indian soldiers recruited by the Company, driven by religious grievances. This event, known as the Indian Rebellion of AD 1857, became the final blow that ultimately led to the dissolution of the Company.

物件編號: A1167

年代: 公元 1817-1833 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.3 x 24.3 x 1.2 mm

重量: 5.55 g

來源: 莫頓與伊登 2024

這是一枚公元19世紀前半葉，英國東印度公司在倫敦為招募士兵發行的代幣。正面的中央是一隻象徵公司的獅子徽章，獅子的後腳站立和雙手捧著一頂皇冠，周圍則包裹著一圈花環，最外圍鐫刻英文銘文「WANTED FINE YOUNG MEN」(想要招募優秀的年輕男子)。

背面同樣以一圈花環裝飾，花環內部鐫刻著「NO 35 SOHO SQUARE LONDON」(倫敦蘇豪廣場35號) 即招募部門位於倫敦的地址，外面則鐫刻「EAST INDIA RECRUITING DEPARTT」(東印度公司招募部門)。

英國東印度公司成立於公元1600年，得到英國皇室特許經營以印度為中心的亞洲貿易，並且能在英國和印度次大陸招募維持公司統治的兵力。然而公元1857年，英國東印度公司招募的印度官兵，因為宗教因素發生大規模的譁變，成為壓垮公司的最後一根稻草。