BRITISH, Hanover. George III, 1760-1820. Half Penny Token 1795 (Copper, 31 mm, 9.33 g, 12 h), Middlesex, on the 'Exhibition' of Amelia Newsham. W. Lutwtyche. Birmingham. MRS. NEWSHAM THE WHITE NEGRESS Draped figure of Amelia Newsham standing to left. Rev. TO BE HAD AT THE CURSIOSITY HOUSE CITY ROAD✱ around NEAR / FINSBURY SQUARE / LONDON / 1795 in four lines. Dalton/Hamer 317. The usual areas of weakness, tiny deposits and a die break on the reverse, otherwise, nearly extremely fine.


Amelia Newsham, also known as Amelia Lewsham or Amelia Nesham, was a Jamaican woman born around 1748 to enslaved Black parents and distinguished by albinism. Sent from Jamaica to England as a child, she was sold to a London showmen named John Burnet/Bennett, who exhibited her as the 'White Negress' to both the public and ‘scientific societies’, including the Royal Society and even the Royal Family. After being baptized as 'Amelia Harlequin' in 1766, she claimed freedom and began exhibiting herself independently for example 1795 at the House of Curiosities run by Thomas Hall at No. 10 City Road in London. She married an Englishman named Lewsham or Newsham and raised six children.

Throughout her life, she was studied by European naturalists, including those in correspondence with Carl Linnaeus, as they attempted to categorize her within racial 'science'. Amelia’s case reflects both the exploitative curiosity of 18th-century Britain and her remarkable resilience in asserting autonomy within such harsh circumstances.