This website is a cut down version of a full illustrated CDROM version.
PLEASE READ ALL THIS PAGE AT LEAST ONCE
& print it out! I've tried to make it suitable for beginners
- if there is something you don't understand, let me know.
For a set of printable pages which explain how the pages are laid out, and pages of listings of all listed tokens with an indication of which pieces are illustrated, click here. This also contains a series of printable A6-sized pocket guides. These can also be viewed from the main index.
These pages are best viewed with a screen resolution of
800x600 and (min) 256 colours
using Internet Explorer 5
or later.
If you can't read the following line, you will need to adjust your settings;-
This is the smallest font used - I think
To adjust your settings right-click your desktop then click;-
PROPERTIES> SETTINGS (tab)> MORE or LESS to 800x600> then APPLY
If you follow a shortcut link, remember you can use your browser's BACK button to return to your previous place. This is often more convenient than the "back to index" or "to top" shortcuts provided (it avoids retracing all jumps on the current page when exiting the page!).
When a page is open, remember that pressing Ctrl-F
(i.e. hold down the CTRL key and press F) will open the IE search box.
The CDROM has 1000+ items listed and 600+ illustrated in HTML format - as "virtual web" pages.
Illustrations are scans of the actual tokens, photographs, or rubbings supplied by other collectors.
Most are converted to 350x350 dots per side and are 256 level greyscale.
Any images shown "courtesy of..." should not be used without first seeking their permission. I am happy to have small numbers of any of my images (say under 20) used for any not-for-profit work, but please ask if larger numbers are to be used.
My personal copy references some articles and images which are still under copyright and are not on this CD. Usually I add something like "see ..." alongside the missing illustration. Links to "missing" articles which are not on the CD are often in green. If anything is on the CD which shouldn't be there, I apologise and will remove it. It is not my intention to distribute illegal copies of others' work. If there is a link to a web page which no longer exists, I might be able to email a copy if I have shown it as "archived."
Most articles longer that a few lines are probably cut & pasted directly from the www - since most of this information is already freely available and in the public demain, I do not think including it here will result in any financial loss the the originators, who have most likely rewritten previous work anyway. Since all history notes are plagiarized, I have merely continued the custom! If anything is on the CD which shouldn't be there, let me know and I will remove it.
I have used images from a number of sources and the copyright of some could not be determined.
The CD-ROM is designed for browsing in the original sense of the word
It also assumes you know what a particular token is likely to be listed under.
However you can search for a single keyword, e.g. a town, street name or surname, in ALL the html files in one go by clicking the taskbar's Start button (at the bottom left of your screen), select Find, select Files or Folders, then type *.htm in the the Named textbox, and then type the word (avoid phrases since these may be missed if the words are spread across two lines and because spaces are sometimes replaced in HTM files by "%20" which still get displayed as a space) you are looking for in the Containing Text textbox, and then the drive&directory (e.g. D:/irish tokens/html) where these .htm files are located on your PC in the Look In textbox, then click Find Now. A list of files containing your keyword will be shown - simply click on each file in turn to open that file (they should open automatically in your internet browser, e.g. Internet Explorer), and you can then use your browser to search for the keyword in that particular file - e.g. press Ctrl-F to open a search textbox in IE6.
If you see something which looks wrong then it probably is! Errors creep in all the time and are difficult to spot. ASK if you suspect something is wrong.
Links to different files and illustrations are tested (although you may find this hard to believe) as they are created. However, every so often, I have a tidy-up and move things to a more logical folder, and while the more obvious links are changed, some might be forgotten. I'm only human, despite what you may have heard.
Probably 99.9% of items linked to will be on the CD-ROM somewhere - it is only an addressing problem, i.e. an incorrect path, and not a missing file problem. If you have transferred the listings to your hard disc, then you can correct these. Right-click on any broken link and find the name of the file which should be linked to. Then use the Windows search facility to find that file. Close the search window and then view the SOURCE (from the VIEW menu) of the file with the incorrect link (this opens the file in NOTEPAD or WORDPAD) and you can then type in the correct path, save the file and then refresh the page to update the link.
NOTE: If a box picture appears but no picture is shown then this is because the image cannot be distributed for copyright reasons. However, if there is one you would particularly like to see, then email me and I can send it. Most of the webpages with an "archived" link are not on the distributed CD either. I have them on my PC in case the target page is removed from the www.
I started scanning my tokens ca.1993 using a hand held scanner - this required you to pull the scanning head over the token at a constant speed without any slight twisting. So scans were far from perfect. The images were stored on the then standard 10MB hard drive and backed up on the then standard 1.4MB floppy discs. The jpeg format of file compression had not been designed, so images were resized to 700x350 and converted to B/W so that 10 could be stored on a floppy in TIFF format. The most widely available printers at the time were impact dot matrix type (although I did have a £1000+ 300dpi laser!). So images had their contrast ratio and brightness adjusted to optimise them for the printing process - this makes them look washed out on the screen, but okay when printed out. Ones which looked good on the screen would print out as dark discs with little or no detail.
I hope this explains why Black & White, why only 700x350 pixels, why odd contrast/brightness and why image distortion.
I never dreamed everyone would one day have a PC with high res. colour printers and unlimited hard drive storage.
I'll leave it to another collector to come along and rescan everything in a standard format, and produce a beautiful actual size-and-colour listing!
© 2001-8 Barry Woodside, Stafford, England
email: barry.woodside@ic24.net (checked once a week only!)
Any new information, scans (anything will do but ideally 300dpi b/w or better), rubbings etc gratefully received!
All providers will be acknowledged in the listing.
If you have a number of pics. to send, please send them spread across a number of small emails to avoid the lot being lost in hyperspace.