1793 End of Pain Token, NCS VF Details. 1793 Great Britain D&H-833 ½ P Middlesex Spence’s Token. This Condor token depicts Thomas Paine being hanged for his work and ideas on expressed in his “The Rights of Man.” On the obverse we see Paine being hanged and an inscription END OF PAIN, a pun on his name. The reverse shows a book inscribed THE WRONGS OF MAN, a play on the words of Paine’s work. The date, January, 21, 1793 is the date of French King Louis XVI’s execution. The ironic implication is that following Paine’s thoughts would eventually lead to the end of the monarchy in England.

The token is has been assessed by NCS which provides authentication, encapsulation, and details grading. There is light wear on the token and environmental damage, which accounts for the “details” designation. There is a small crack on both sides of the planchet on the obverse from the church steeple to the right rim and on the reverse from the edge of the left page to the rim. There are a few marks on the obverse field and a couple of scratches on the reverse field on top of the left page of the book. The environmental damage is seen on top of the right page. The token is struck from rotated dies, which is not noted by NCS.

Thomas Paine tokens are hot ! They are political and historical. In "A Guide Book of United States Tokens and Medals," we find anti-Paine and pro-Paine tokens were very popular here in the U.S. in the 1790s. Jaeger writes anti-Paine tokens were imported by such fellows as John Adams and Alexander Hamilton "to carry as pocket pieces." On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson and George Clinton carried pro-Paine tokens, according to the author.