Convict Tokens

Convict Tokens: From the collection of the National Museum of Australia presents a selection of convict tokens from the National Museum’s collection.

Convict tokens are a powerful link to Australia’s past. Engraved with personal details and rhymes of separation, these tiny tokens represent an enduring connection between the convicts who made them and those they left behind. Often, they were a final farewell.

Image credit: Convict love token from David Freeman, 1818 National Museum of Australia / Jason McCarthy.

Convict Tokens: From the collection of the National Museum of Australia is a travelling exhibit developed by the National Museum of Australia with support from the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach Program.