Indeed - they were early toy money - for use in playing games, or when playing a game of cards for 'money'. Not officially issued by the Royal Mint of course; the name Lauer or Lindauer comes to mind as the maker. I have seen half sovereigns, crowns etc - all toy money, and never intended as forgeries - which is why they were made smaller than originals.
https://en.numista.com/forum/topic7224.html
I remember similar coins/tokens/toy money from a while ago, where in the above Topic I found a link to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge here in the UK and they list all sorts of toy money. Hope it helps.