QUERY: RUSSIAN BEARD TAX TOKEN COUNTERSTAMPS

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V15 2012 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 15, Number 46, November 4, 2012, Article 19

This week I came across a short item about the Russian Beard tax tokens. These were mentioned once in an E-Sylum article on Ken Bressett's Milestone Coins book, but I we've never discussed these in any detail. -Editor

A beard tax is one of several taxes introduced throughout history on men who wear beards. In 1705, Emperor Peter I of Russia instituted a beard tax to modernize the society of Russia following European models. Those who paid the tax were required to carry a “beard token”. This was a copper or silver token with a Russian Eagle on one side and on the other, the lower part of a face with nose, mouth, whiskers, and beard. It was inscribed with two phrases: “the beard tax has been taken” and “the beard is a superfluous burden”.

However, Peter the Great was not the first ruler to impose a beard tax upon his subjects, in 1535, King Henry VIII of England, who wore a beard himself, introduced a tax on beards. The tax was a graduated tax, varying with the wearer’s social position. His daughter, Elizabeth I of England, reintroduced the beard tax, taxing every beard of more than two weeks’ growth. (Source: Wikipedia)

Curious about the counterstamp, I pulled out my copy of Milestone Coins, which says that "It is possible that the counterstamp found on these pieces may have been a re-validation mark for a subsequent year, but no records remain to confirm this theory." Does anyone have more information about the tokens and their counterstamps? What is the best reference today? -Editor

To read the complete article, see: Beard Tax Token, 1705 (theoddmentemporium.tumblr.com/post/34647120840/beard-tax-token
-1705-a-beard-tax-is-one-of)

One of these sold last month on eBay. To view the auction descriptions, see: RUSSIA BEARD TOKEN 1705 VF C/M (www.ebay.com/itm/RUSSIA-BEARD-TOKEN-1705-VF-C-M-/150919643768)

Wayne Homren, Editor