BRITISH ANNUAL TOKEN CONGRESS 2026

I attended my first Annual Token Congress in Warwick in October 2017. I have to admit that I wasn't easily persuaded, having been a regular at our local Numismatic Society for several years (until a clash with our snooker league) I was worried that I would be easily bored. I still vividly remember some talks in our society, the guy that simply showed us the obverse of virtually every shilling from James II to Queen Elizabeth II will probably haunt me for the rest of my days.

It was Merfyn Williams that convinced me to go, he told me that once I'd been once my name would be quickly on the list for the next year. It didn't take me too long to understand how right he was.

I turned up at the Hilton Hotel on time (15:00), as a lifelong Civil Servant being on time was something drilled into me on my first day in 1977. When I walked through the door I wondered if I was on time, there was a sea of people chatting and looking at tokens. It was the first time in the marketplace for many of those tokens and I had missed out; never again would I be there so late as to be "on time!"

 

I knew very few people personally when I first walked through that door, but it wasn't long before some of the seasoned tokeners took me under their wings. After a couple of beers we moved on to the evening meal and, again this provided me a chance to chat with people I had never met before, though some of their names rang bells from either dealers I had dealt with or others who were authors of some of the key books in a Tokeners' library' - legends in their own lifetime such as Michael Dicksinson, Paul Withers, Mulholland Ignatious Cobwright and J. Gavin Scott.

After the meal it's auction time, plenty of lots to view and bid on, and of course you can only bid if you're there – its another chance to pick up a nice piece for your collection, usually at far less than what you would pay in a London token auction, or on eBay.

After a filling breakfast its off to the Saturday talks, the range and breadth of people's knowledge astounded me. Yet more food on Saturday lunchtime, be careful not to eat too much there are more interesting talks to listen to – though in case you do start to doze off a bit, there are also a couple tea and coffee breaks to get you caffeinated and ready for more.

Come Saturday night it's the gala dinner and yes, even more food! That's followed by a bourse with many popular token dealers selling their wares to a packed room. I've seldom left without adding several things to my collection which, had I not attended, I would have likely never seen.

Through all of this time there is another popular destination, the cask beers that are provided through sponsorship are on sale just outside our function rooms – as well as providing an inexpensive pint of beer it's a place for yet more token chat.

By Sunday I'm feeling pretty full, plenty of food and plenty of beer, and yet somehow I manage breakfast before attending the Sunday morning talks. It's all quite disappointing when you get to lunchtime and realize that Token Congress is over for another year – yet I know what to do: book for the following year of course.

I have been into coins for most of my life, originally collecting British Hammered and Milled, what got me into tokens was walking into a coin shop in Whitcomb Street, London, This was a regular haunt when I was based there every fourth week. One day I was in and a guy had a tray of these strange things, which looked quite nice, but it's when I spotted Halsall on one I thought I must have that. To find out why, sign up now for this year's congress! It's between 2 nd and 4th October in Northampton

Token Congress is in my opinion is one of, if not the best, Numismatic events of the year. There is a fantastic atmosphere and wonderful camaraderie, dealers and collectors that have a love for our wonderful hobby merge into one. It is impossible to attend and not learn something new – and, really, isn't that what all collectors really want? More knowledge will always make you a wiser collector, and the opportunity to meet so many others (there are usually around 100 attendees) who share your interests is something that is absent from larger coin shows,

The programs for this event are magnificent, and contain articles that have not been published anywhere else; you can only guarantee obtaining one if you attend. While each year has a different roster of talks, they are usually on tokens from the 17th , 18th , 19th , and early 20th centuries, most of which are of tokens from the UK, though there are often talks on US tokens, as well as elsewhere in Europe.

What does it all cost:

• Single person, £350 all-inclusive in a double room
• Couples £595 all-inclusive in double room
• £185 non-resident rate – you have your lodgings and breakfasts elsewhere, but can attend all the Token Congress events and lunch and dinners.

This is an incredible value, as it's £280 just for two nights for a single person, bed & breakfast when you book at the Sheraton Northampton hotel! As has been the case the last several years, this is our host hotel, and Northampton is just an easy, direct one-hour train ride out of London. The dates for this year's Token Congress are Friday Oct 2 – Sunday Oct 4. The auction house of Noonan's will have a sale of tokens in London two days earlier than Congress, and many of our American friends who come over for the event plan their schedule to include lot viewing and bidding in person. Some even make it a longer holiday, as it is very easy – and quite inexpensive! – to get from London to anywhere in Europe.

PLEASE BOOK EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT

Please visit https://thetokensociety.org.uk/ if you want any more details about Token Congress (Brian Brighouse brighouses@aol.com – British Token Congress organiser 2026)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
2019 TOKEN CONGRESS REPORT (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n43a08.html)
2024 BRITISH TOKEN CONGRESS REPORT (https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n42a10.html)

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