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BLUNT: OPERATOR FOR THE TEETH AND BLEEDERDavid Pickup writes:The article on dentistry and banknotes reminded me of a piece I have that was made for a dentist. My findings were published in the Token Corresponding Society Bulletin.
Thanks!
The article was in the September 2013 issue. Here's an excerpt. I've converted the inscriptions to a more compact format using slashes to denote new lines.
-Editor
A recently purchased George II halfpenny has the following inscription engraved on the reverse,
A search of the Sarah Banks’ collection of trade cards at the British Museum located a trade card which reads as follows, BLUNT / Opperator for the teeth / And Bleeder / The Upper End of / Great Windmill Street / Opposite the / Hay Market Blunt held the joint occupations of “operator for the teeth” meaning a person who carries out operations and “bleeder”. Presumably the use of the word “operator” suggests something more sophisticated than a person who simply pulled out teeth. During the eighteenth century bloodletting was common and universal in the treatment of disease. It did not fall out of use until the following century.
Interesting token!
As mentioned in my Diary last week, Eric Newman's grandfather sold leeches, commonly used then to draw blood from patients.
-Editor
For more information about the Token Corresponding Society, see:
To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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