Lead tokens: an identification chart using the Powell types

Lead tokens are the unloved finds of the hobby. Crude, often worn, rarely with a word on them. But they’re common in many fields, and there’s a simple way to describe them that collectors and researchers share: the Powell types.

David Powell, the token researcher who devised it, wanted a system that “the ordinary numismatist, detectorist or archaeologist” could use in the field. No fine detail. Just a number for what you can see.

How the system works

Classify each face separately, not the token as a whole. Lead tokens often have no clear obverse or reverse, and many are blank on one side.

Pick the type that matches the dominant design. If a face combines two designs equally, call it a hybrid: “type 2/5” for initials with an anchor, for example.

Two features are qualities, not types. A number or a wreath/grenetis (a beaded border) can go with any type. So you’d write “Type 12 with grenetis” or “Type 1 with number”. Type 8 and type 28 now only cover numbers or borders standing on their own.

The 37 types

Types 36 and 37 were added in Revision 2 (August 2010). The full document explains each one, with the common overlaps.

The ones you’ll see most

Type 1, petalled flower. Powell says it’s the commonest type, apart possibly from initials. Usually three to six petals reaching the rim, most often five or six. A real flower head that doesn’t reach the rim goes in type 17 instead.

Type 2, initials. Any face where initials dominate. Watch for “IS”: it can be a genuine pair of initials or a back-to-front “12”, a number that turns up often on hop tokens.

Type 3, segments. Three or more segments radiating from the centre, like a cartwheel with pellets near the edge.

Type 12 and 14. Quartered designs. Plain crosses, or crosses with pellets in the quarters that copy a medieval penny, are type 14. Quartered designs with other regular patterns are type 12.

Type 4, lis. Fleur-de-lis, plus plumes, feathers and tridents. Some lis look like “CC” with one C reversed.

Type 5, anchors. Powell wonders whether anchors point to a maritime use, such as ferry tokens. He’s careful to call it a question, not an answer.

How old are they?

Older-looking than they are. You’d expect pieces this crude to be late medieval or Elizabethan. Powell found the main series centres on a “surprisingly late” 1690–1810.

He estimates about 7–8% carry a date. Many dates are back to front or very crude. Almost all are 18th century, and some are early or mid 19th century.

Other lead and pewter series overlap with them:

• Roman tesserae. The oldest lead tokens in Britain, and not common.
• Medieval pewter tokens. From about 1200, linked to London and other big cities. Some very small ones, about 11 mm, are thought to be ecclesiastical.
• Scottish communion tokens. Mainly lead, and easily confused in their simplest early forms.
• Hop tokens. From about 1770 to the late 19th century. Values such as 1, 3, 6, 12, 30, 60 and 120, usually bushels, also appear on cruder lead pieces.

What were they for?

Powell offers theories, not certainty: tallying farm work, tavern use, gaming counters, ferry tokens. Then there’s the problem he calls perennial: not enough small change. A labourer in the early 1800s might earn about a shilling a day, he notes, and governments didn’t supply enough low-value coin. So people made their own.

Where they turn up

Powell found the biggest supplies in the far south-east, especially Romney Marsh. There are also good numbers in southern East Anglia and around Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Detectorists in Nottinghamshire and County Durham find them too. Few seem to come from the far west, and he had only one from Wales.

Most designs seem to be found everywhere. Strong outer rims may lean East Anglian. He calls these observations tenuous.

Token or seal?

Lead was poured into moulds, sometimes a “tree” of linked cavities, and the pieces snapped off. That leaves stubs. Powell says telling a token from a seal is often about reading those protrusions and any holes correctly.

If it has two discs, a hinge or a channel for a cord, it’s probably a seal. See our guide to lead bag seals and cloth seals.

Record them

Powell’s main plea is to keep the findspot: “where there is [information], preserve it.” Record tokens with your Finds Liaison Officer, giving each face its Powell type. For other common post-medieval finds, see old buttons and the musket ball size chart.

FAQ

How old are lead tokens?

Older than they look, but not by as much as you'd think. David Powell found that the crude agricultural series centres on about 1690–1810. Of the roughly 7–8% that carry a date, almost all are 18th century, with some early and mid 19th-century pieces.

What were lead tokens used for?

Nobody knows for sure, and Powell lists several theories: tallies for farm work like hop picking, tavern pieces, gaming counters, and small change at a time when the smallest coin was worth too much for everyday needs. Many may have served more than one purpose.

What is the Powell classification?

A system by David Powell that gives each face of a lead token one of 37 numbered types based on what it looks like: 1 for a petalled flower, 2 for initials, 5 for an anchor, 12 for a quartered geometric design and so on. Combinations are described as hybrids, and numbers or wreaths are added as qualities, such as “Type 12 with grenetis”.

Is it a lead token or a lead seal?

Look for protrusions and holes. Seals were made to clamp onto cloth or a string, so they often have two discs, a hinge, a channel or a hole. Tokens are usually a single round flan. Powell says telling them apart is often a matter of reading those features correctly. Our guide to lead seals covers them.

Should I record lead tokens?

Yes. Powell stresses that so little is known that provenance is everything: where there is findspot information, preserve it. The PAS Code of Practice asks you to record archaeological finds with your Finds Liaison Officer.

Sources

Every figure in this guide comes from one of these. We checked each one on 1 November 2026.

1. David Powell, “British Lead Tokens”, hosted by Mernick. mernick.org.uk/lnc/DPowell/LeadTokens.htm
2. David Powell, Powell Classification System for Lead Tokens, Revision 2 (August 2010), The Token Society. thetokensociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Classification_System.pdf
3. Portable Antiquities Scheme, Code of Practice for Responsible Metal Detecting. finds.org.uk/guides/detecting-guidance/code-of-practice-for-responsible-metal-detecting