BHM 1360.
45mm. White metal. By Hardy.
Obverse with view of York Minster, reverse with interior view of the Cathedral. The circular wooden box has the original internal sticker detailing Jonathan Martin.
Extremely Fine with original brilliance and rare.
The blaze was spotted in the early hours and the fire engines summoned. They had limited effect against an inferno which melted the lead from the roof and cracked the limestone pillars. Only late that afternoon did the fire begin to die out. By then about 230 feet of the choir roof had come crashing down, and the medieval choir stalls, the organ and the pulpit were destroyed. Martin, a former sailor from Northumberland, was a non-conformist who believed all prayer should come from the heart rather than recited from formal liturgy. He published pamphlets condemning the clergy as "Vipers of Hell". Although he left York after the fire he was soon caught. At his trial he was found not guilty due to insanity. He died in a London hospital in May 1838.
Ex Neddy Allen, November 1970, £3.