Matthew Bolton was a general manufacturer in Birmingham. In 1762 he bought and rebuilt some works at Soho on the outskirts of the town, with a Mr. Fothergill as a partner. In 1767 he became acquainted with James Watt who settled at Soho in 1769, and a little later became a partner in the firm of Boulton and Watt. In 1773 Boulton added an Assay office to his ordinary business. The works were enlarged, and a coining mill was erected in 1788. This became the Soho Mint, producing many remarkable coins until 1850 when it was dismantled and the machinery sold to Ralph Heaton and Sons of Birmingham who was engaged in striking money.

The Soho Mint was torn down in 1857, and nothing remains of this famous building.

Many Provincial (Conder) tokens, most likely including this one, were struck at the Soho Mint. This token has a history with me. I have spent the last 2 years searching for an example with no luck. I even enlisted the help of our local Conder expert and between us we didn’t find a single listing anywhere.

This token is important to me because of the history of the subject matter and the skill of engraver.

Dalton and Hamer list this token as “common” and maybe it was at one time. I had pretty much given up hope of finding one.

Well, this one showed up at Heritage Auctions and fortunately I was one of the only people interested in it. It sold for the price of a common token even though I was prepared to pay the price of a scarce one. That’s the funny thing about Conder tokens. Many “common” tokens are almost impossible to find.

Warwickshire-Kempson's

D&H 212

Obverse: SOHO MANUFACTORY Building, in exerge ERECTED 1764

Reverse: Shield of arms, MAKER OF BUTTONS MEDALS &c. BIRMINGHAM around, P. KEMPSON above.

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Sources:

The Building Medalets of Kempson and Skidmore by R. C. Bell

and my head.