The Vexator Canadiensis tokens (also known as the Vexator Canadensis tokens) are thought to be politically satirical tokens produced in either Quebec City or Montreal sometime in the 1830s. The tokens present a very crude image of a vaguely male bust on their obverse, and a female figure on the reverse. The legends on either side were deliberately designed so that they are hard to definitively read, but are commonly known as the "" based on a common interpretation of its obverse legend. Depending on the interpretation of the inscriptions, they can either be taken as a form of satirical protest against either an unpopular Upper Canada governor, or William IV as a "tormentor of Canada", or more simply, depicting a fur trapper. Since all of these interpretations are possible, the ambiguity would allow the issuer from escaping being cited for sedition.
Despite the date of 1811 (or for one unique version, 1810), appearing on its reverse, it has long been thought to have been issued sometime in the 1830s, the backdating serving as a way to circumvent regulations against importing contemporary tokens. At least three main varieties are known, though additional die variations are known to exist. Recent numismatic scholarship has questioned the long-standing assumption that the tokens were issued in the 1830s, and may have in fact been issued closer to the date that appears on them. They were not produced in large numbers, and typical examples start at several hundred C$ and up.
Description
The obverse depicts the bust of man, looking left, with wavy hair and what has been described as a "shaggy" appearance. The obverse legend can be read as saying either VEXATOR or VENATOR CANADIENSIS, a Latin description that can be interpreted as "Tormentor of Canada/Pest of Canada" or "A Canadian Trapper" respectively. The legend is crudely cut, with reversed "N"s in CANADIENSIS, and the third letter of the first word can be interpreted as being either an "X" or an "N". Some descriptions of the bust on the obverse say that it has a "protruding tongue". A variation of the obverse includes a small star at the bottom of the bust.
The reverse features a crude-looking seated female figure (likely a depiction of Britannia), surrounded by the legend RENONILLOS VISCAPE, with the date 1811 (or much less commonly, 1810), appearing at the bottom. One interpretation of the legend is: "Wouldn't you like to catch them?". A single five-pointed star typically appears between the two words in the legend, though one variation has three stars.
These tokens are struck in both copper and brass, and have a wide range in weight, from as little as 45 grains to 100 grains (3 g to 6.5 g), with at least one example weighing 126 grains (8 g).
Numismatic Study
Early Studies
The were first described by Alfred Sandham in his Coins, Tokens and Medal of the Dominion of Canada from 1869. He took the date on the token at face value, and therefore considered this token to be the first to be created and struck within Canada, as opposed to being imported from outside the country. Sandham described three examples in his catalog (numbers 5, 6, and 7 under the "Canada" chapter), though he mentions that he was aware of additional varieties, differing "in the mode of spelling, or in punctuation". He interpreted the female figure on the reverse of the token to be "dancing".
A subsequent study of the followed in 1874 with the publication of A Canadian Political Coin by William Kingsford. The majority of this monograph focuses on the political background of Upper Canada in the 1810s that he thought led to the issuing of this satirical token, though he mentions that the majority of these tokens had been found in Quebec City, and was the first to interpret the reverse legend as saying "Don't you wish you may catch them?" Based on the date appearing on the tokens, Kingsford believed the "tormentor of Canada" being targeted was Sir James Craig, who was governor of Upper Canada up until that year. This story was picked up by Pierre-Napoléon Breton in his illustrated catalog of Canadian numismatics from 1894, who also goes into the dictatorial nature of Sir James Craig's colonial rule when describing the historical background for these tokens. Breton also mentions that all of the specimens of these tokens he had encountered were "poorly struck, and it is impossible to find any in good condition". While Sandham mentioned three distinct varieties, Breton only lists two, which he cataloged as numbers 558 and 559, while also noting that each had its own variations. Using a 10-point scale (where 10 is rarest), Breton described these tokens as having a rarity level of "R3", though noting that "they are becoming rare."