These three fascinating farm tokens were discovered by Yanne during a single day of detecting at one of our permissions in the Surrey Hills. Finds like this are always exciting, not just because of their number, but because of the story they help to tell about rural life in Surrey.
Farm tokens are small, locally issued objects that were typically used as a form of payment or credit within agricultural communities. Rather than being official currency, they were often given to labourers as part of their wages and could be exchanged for goods, sometimes food, supplies, or even drink, at local farms, shops or nearby pubs.
The presence of multiple tokens in the same area suggests organised agricultural activity, likely linked to farm workers operating within a structured system of payment. In regions like the Surrey Hills, where farming has shaped the landscape for centuries, these tokens offer a tangible connection to the everyday lives of those who worked the land.
Each token carries its own character, with simple markings or symbols used for identification rather than decoration. Finds like these remind us that history is not only found in grand artefacts, but also in the small, practical objects that formed part of daily life, quietly lost, and now rediscovered.
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