Baldwin's Offered a Thomas Spence Halfpenny Showing Boxer Daniel Mendoza in October 2023
In a blog post dated October 8, 2023, London dealer A.H. Baldwin's described a Thomas Spence halfpenny token showing a bust of the boxer Daniel Mendoza, estimated at £300-400. The piece was to be auctioned on October 11, 2023, at Baldwin's location at 399 Strand, London. The post calls Mendoza a father of scientific boxing and outlines his life.
Correction (Oct 13, 2026): We rewrote the headline, summary and body to match the Baldwin's source. We removed statements not in the source, including a description of the piece as silver, an explanation of the Bridewell Boy as a vagrant and a reading of the design as a class metaphor, claims about a coin shortage, crowd sizes, the jab and footwork, and a "Fine to Very Fine" grade, as well as unsupported investment and market-outlook remarks; we added the October 11, 2023 auction, estimate, grade and provenance as stated by Baldwin's. The previous headline was "Mendoza's Thomas Spence Halfpenny Token Reflects Boxing History."
This article is based on a blog post published by A.H. Baldwin's on October 8, 2023. Baldwin's filed the post under its "The stories of tokens" category.
In a blog post dated October 8, 2023, the London dealer A.H. Baldwin's described a token showing the boxer Daniel Mendoza. The company said the piece would be auctioned on October 11, 2023, at its location at 399 Strand, London. Bidders could take part in person, by phone, or online through the company's website.
The token
The piece is lot 1276, a London - Holborn Thomas Spence halfpenny. It is undated. The obverse shows a bust of Mendoza facing left. The reverse shows a "Bridewell Boy" standing and holding a swagger stick. The edge is plain.
It measures 28mm and weighs 10.57 grams. Its catalogue reference is DH 786. Baldwin's grades it Good Extremely Fine, with some original lustre and iridescence, and describes it as "superb and rare." The estimate is £300-400.
The provenance is given as "an old Surrey Col." via Mark Rasmussen in September 2016.
Mendoza's life
Daniel Mendoza was born in Whitechapel in 1764 to a family of Spanish and Portuguese Jews.
According to the post, he is regarded as the English prize-fighting champion from 1792, when he defeated Bill Warr at Purley, to 1795, when he lost to John Jackson at Hornchurch.
At the time, the sport consisted mainly of barehanded slugging. Mendoza introduced the concept of defence. He developed the guard and the straight left, and used side-stepping. This approach, the Mendoza School, was criticised in some circles as cowardly. The post says it let Mendoza make full use of his small stature, speed and punching power.
Decline and later years
The post says Mendoza was first admired as a heroic figure, but his popularity declined, most likely because the public knew of crimes he had committed. It says it is possible that he was deported at some point in his youth for robbery, tried for fraud at the Old Bailey in October 1793, and found guilty of assault on a woman who had insulted his wife.
The post says he was unable to manage his earnings. He died in 1836, at the age of 72, at his home off Petticoat Lane, leaving his wife Ester and a family of eleven in abject poverty.
He was buried in the Nuevo Sephardic Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery near Mile End. When the site became part of Queen Mary University of London, the burial was moved to Brentwood Jewish Cemetery in Essex.
Source: Baldwin's, "Dan Mendoza – the father of scientific boxing" (October 8, 2023).
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