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The obverse depicts Fortuna holding lottery tickets in each hand and standing on her symbolic wheel between two royal lottery drums surmounted by a crown and featuring the GR monogram and crown on the top panels. Legend: "NOTHING VENTURE NOTHING HAVE" (There is no victory without risk).
On the reverse side there is an inscription in eight lines:
“AT THE OFFICES OF
RICHARDSON GOODLUCK & CO
No.
12807
THE LAST PRIZE OF
£30,000
SHARED
WAS SOLD IN SIXTEENTH.”
Edge is smooth. Engraver and manufacturer: Milton.
Richardson, Goodluck & Co were brokers
and owners of lottery stalls in London at 104 Bank Building, Cornhill in the
City and 8 Charing Cross in the West End. An old village woman,
Goodluck, was taken as a partner for the opportunity to use her last name. She
was paid £50 a year and showed no interest in the firm's affairs.
Sometimes Fortuna is depicted with wings
and a wheel next to her, indicating her fickleness; in some cases
only with a wheel, to show that the successful outcome of expeditions depends on
it. Usually, her attribute is the cornucopia, as a symbol of the
source of wealth, and often, she holds the steering oar while sitting on the
globe as the manager of all worldly affairs. On the token, it
stands on a wheel, because the winning tickets were pulled out of large round
drums. The engraver also depicted her with a blindfold, symbolizing
impartiality, which is usually an attribute of Themis, the goddess of justice.
Capricious fortune turned against Richardson in 1821, when he was declared bankrupt and his firm was ruined.
Richardson, Googluck, & Co has released another halfpenny variant: Richardson's Halfpenny D&H471