Badge, button badge

Souvenir alloy metal badge issued to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The badge is stamped on one side with a crown, the shields of Scotland, England and Ireland, a thistle, rose and shamrock and the caption 'To commemorate the 60th year of H M Reign.' On the reverse is stamped a pattern of stars. A pin clasp is also attached this side for attaching the badge to clothes. The souvenir was purchased by Ernest King for one penny (1d) from a London street trader on 26th March 1897. Cheap, mass produced penny souvenirs commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria were being sold by London's street traders from March 1897. Between March and June 1897 Ernest King purchased 13 different penny souvenirs from the street traders operating in the Ludgate Hill area of London, ten of these being purchased in June indicating demand for souvenirs rose as Londoners enthusiasm and excitement for the Jubilee procession on 22nd June grew.