IT'S the symbolic gesture against racism which has divided the world of sport and sparked anger among some fans — but experts say they can trace the origins of the ‘taking the knee’ protest back more than 200 years.

A rare ‘penny’ (c1790) depicting a kneeling black man in chains with his hands raised to the heavens will go under the hammer at Baldwin’s auction house in London on Wednesday (October 5).

Unusually for a coin which has attracted interest from collectors the world over, this museum piece was never legal tender.

Members of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade began circulating the 'penny' shortly after they formed in 1787.

A shortage of government-issued coins at the time meant that privately minted coins - including the white metal anti-slavery penny - became accepted by traders for day-to-day transactions.

As the campaign gathered momentum, the image - modelled by sculptors Henry Webber and William Hackwood - began appearing on brooches and other accessories worn by those attending campaign rallies in towns and cities across the country.

The words inscribed on the coin above the pleading figure posed a simple but emotive question: “Am I not a man and a brother?"

If the plea was designed to appeal to a British sense of fair play, it certainly worked. In 1807, Parliament passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act with the United States following suit.

Richard Gladdle, numismatic consultant at Baldwin’s auction house, which is auctioning the coin, said: “Though the football-going public will forever remain divided about the practice of players taking the knee, no one should forget the legacy of those in this country who used this symbol to such great effect in their long campaign against the evils of slavery.

“This cruel practice saw millions displaced from their homes, and the coin perfectly illustrates the trauma suffered by those victims.

“It is a fitting reminder which can be used to educate the next generation.”

The anti-slavery penny - measuring 33mm and weighing 11.36gm - lay forgotten in Baldwin’s safe for more than 100 years and was only recently re-discovered during a clear-out of a basement area at their building on the Strand in London.

It will be auctioned with a guide price of £300 on October 5 along with other items.