This book priced at £12.99 was produced to accompany the traveling exhibition of the subject to three museums  in Australia before returning to Britain where it was on exhibition in 1999 at the British Museum.

Convict love tokens or Leaden Hearts as they were known by prisoners at the time were their final parting gifts to wives girlfriends and relatives. Left in a prison cell after conviction the inmates knew that they would have an opportunity to meet with their loved ones one final time and would grind off the images from the faces of Cartwheel pennies and engrave (or pin prick) messages to give them as parting gifts. Often pledging undying love until their return (which almost certainly would never happen) these sad mementoes are often the only surviving relic of their former lives in England before the 12000 mile journey to the other side of the World.

One of the fascinations of these unique coins is that as many of the convicts were alive within a few generations and having been so carefully recorded by the establishment, their lives can be pieced together in minute detail from the cradle to the grave. This book features specialist chapters on the subject by some of the experts in the field, tracing the background history whilst putting it in an historical context.

Photograph (left) shows exhibition in Sydney, Australia