Obverse: 8 Line Inscription
Reverse: Stokes Emu
Diameter: 34mmmm
Weight: 15.85gg
Maker: T. Stokes
Ref#: G258 / A516 / R506 / H235
GVF
Thomas Stokes was born in Birmingham, England, in 1831. He was apprenticed to a diesinker, and migrated to Australia in search of gold in the 1850s. He did not succeed, but returned to his trade as a diesinker and button maker. In 1856 he established a successful business at 15 Mincing Lane, Melbourne, and soon moved to larger permises at 115 Flinders Lane.
In 1857 Stokes acquired a press from W.J. Taylor and began to mint large numbers of tradesmen’s tokens. He also commenced the Australian Medallic Issues. Within a short time the business moved again, to 100 Collins Street. In 1873 Stokes took a partner, Martin, and the business was re-named Stokes & Martin. It added silverware to its product line, but the new direction was not well received. The business relocated to 29 Little Collins Street, where in 1893 a disastrous fire damaged a large portion of the business. Unfortunately Martin had forgotten to renew the fire insurance policy, and the partnership was dissolved as a result. Stokes rebuilt the business as Stokes & Son.
The business became a proprietary concern in 1911, re-named Stokes & Son Pty Ltd. Its medals ceased being artistically significant, although remained technically sound. It began to focus on mass-produced medals at competitive prices, rapidly produced with insufficient time to develop artistic designs.
In 1935 the business moved to Albert Street, Brunswick, and in 1962 Stokes became a public company, renamed Stokes (Australasia) Pty Ltd. By 2005, the business had relocated to Ringwood.
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