Judaica / Zionism - England, CABBAGE SOCIETY Tokens, 18th-19th Centuries

Judaica / Zionism - England, CABBAGE SOCIETY Tokens, 18th-19th Centuries Two rare tokens associated with the Cabbage Society, a Jewish social-communal organization active in England during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Such societies were common in Jewish communities across Europe and Britain, functioning as charitable groups, mutual-aid societies, fraternal circles, or social clubs that gathered for regular events and sometimes for specific holidays. The unusual name “Cabbage Society” appears on several known tokens from the period. According to numismatic research, the society was likely a communal or fraternal circle with internal traditions, which included distributing membership tokens or admission tokens for its events. Some of the tokens were issued to mark specific holidays, particularly Purim - explaining the inscription PURIM 1796 on one of them. First Token - PURIM 1796 (Cabbage Society) Obverse: Large inscription PURIM, with 1796 below, surrounded by stars and a small floral emblem at the center. This was likely a token distributed at a festive gathering of the society in honor of Purim in 1796. Reverse: Legend around the rim: CABBAGE SOCIETY, with a cabbage/cauliflower emblem in the center - the society’s symbol. Weight: 26.942 g Diameter: 35 mm Second Token - Cabbage Society 1814 Obverse: Large central date 1814, surrounded by a decorative laurel wreath. It was likely issued for an annual gathering or a special event held by the society in that year. Reverse: Legend CABBAGE SOCIETY, again with the cabbage/cauliflower emblem - the society’s symbol. Weight: 16.784 g Diameter: 30 mm Tokens of the Cabbage Society are considered extremely rare, with only a small number surviving today. Although the precise origins of the society are not fully documented, several studies associate it with Anglo-Jewish communal groups - most likely in London - that operated in a semi-fraternal format: Purim celebration gatherings Communal charity events Social events and meetings of tradesmen or merchants Internal societies within Ashkenazi Jewish communities in London Issuing Purim tokens was a known Jewish-British tradition, and the 1796 token fits this custom perfectly.