Description
The Buckfastleigh Tanner is one of a range of ‘Town Coins’ made by Bigbury Mint. They are made as fictitious currency or tokens of Devon Towns, local to where the Mint exists. The coins can be bought to give as gifts, made into jewellery, or used as tokens. If your town (wherever in the world) would like to commission us to make a ‘coin’, please contact us.
17mm diameter gilding metal with a bronze finish
The obverse of the coin shows the Town Crest – a BUCK held FAST on the LEIGH.
In the background is the Parish Church which was destroyed by fire in 1992.
The reverse shows a variety of symbols; a steam train of the Dart Valley Railway, a bee for Brother Adam (a famous beekeeping monk at nearby Buckfast Abbey), a bat for the bat caves and a dart for the river Dart.
The coin was named ‘tanner’ because of the local tanning industry.





Medals are mounted ready for wear and then placed on a block within the frame. This allows for the easy removal and replacement of the medals as required, meaning they can be removed for wear on parade or for cleaning.
The medals will hang from the block at a slight angle much as they would if they were being worn on the chest.
Medals are not mounted ready for wear and instead are placed flat against the frame backing with the medal ribbon secured through a slot. This means that the medals cannot be removed from the frame and cannot be worn.


Medal mounting swing style is the more traditional method of mounting medals. Swing Style or ordinary style mounted medals are mounted on a medal brooch bar which can then be pinned to your tunic directly, through becketts or attached to a pocket holder. This style of medal mounting allows the medals to move or ‘swing’ when worn. Over time, the edge of the medals can become damaged due to the medals “clinking” together.
Medal mounting court style is alleged to have began during the reign of Queen Victoria. Those attending the Queen would wear medals court mounted to stop them “clinking”. Other sources suggest that the Cavalry first adopted the practice. Either way, this style of medal mounting is becoming more popular. Court mounted medals are fixed to a rigid backing material called buckram. The buckram is then covered in a felt material before the medals are mounted on their own ribbon length. This style of medal mounting holds the medals firmly in place and prevents them ‘clinking’ together and damaging each other when worn.
