Lot 118 - Great Britain. Victoria BR Cumberland Jacks Gaming Counters "To Hanover" lot x5. 1837.

Great Britain. Victoria BR Cumberland Jacks Gaming Counters "To Hanover" lot x5. 1837. VICTORIA REGINA young portrait left / TO HANOVER above, date in exergue, St. George slaying dragon. 4.00g, 20.00mm, 12h.Choice Uncirculated. Much mint lustre, the nicest group I have seen. Lot sold as seen, No Returns. The history behind these pieces is that when Victoria was crowned as Queen, she was unable to fulfil the role of King of Hanover under Salic Law, due to the fact that she was a female. Her unpopular Uncle (Ernest Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland) who was the oldest male heir to the throne was sent off to Hanover instead to fulfil the role, and the counters/tokens were produced to commemorate (celebrate) his departure. Such was his unpopularity that many of the tokens on closer inspection actually depict a monkey on horseback which was intended to portray the Duke.They were produced around the time of Victoria's ascension to the throne in 1837, and continued to be produced for the next few decades. They were finally made illegal in 1883.