EARTHWORKS
Hero Member
- #1
Thread Owner
Hey Guys: Found this last Thursday, had posted on todays finds and got buried.
Enjoy
Tokens of the period 1833 - 1844 are known as Hard Times Tokens, a name given them by Lyman H. Low in 1886 in his book of that title. "Hard Times" certainly resulted from the Panic of 1837, when specie payments were suspended, and many of these tokens have reference - often satirical - to the events of this period. But the term has now grown to encompass any token minted during this period, even if it is merely a store card, and is now simply a convenience for collectors. The majority of these tokens actually circulated as cents (and, in one instance, as a half cent), including the store cards. The pieces attacking President Jackson (portrayed as a wild boar or a jackass) are quite common in worn condition. The tokens of this period have been the subject of several books (the current standard reference is Hard Times Tokens by Russell Rulau, Second Edition) and bring the highest prices of any American tokens after the Colonial period; $6,000 was paid for a single token at the March 26-27, 1980 Garrett Sale, and many other tokens brought four-figure prices.
Enjoy
Tokens of the period 1833 - 1844 are known as Hard Times Tokens, a name given them by Lyman H. Low in 1886 in his book of that title. "Hard Times" certainly resulted from the Panic of 1837, when specie payments were suspended, and many of these tokens have reference - often satirical - to the events of this period. But the term has now grown to encompass any token minted during this period, even if it is merely a store card, and is now simply a convenience for collectors. The majority of these tokens actually circulated as cents (and, in one instance, as a half cent), including the store cards. The pieces attacking President Jackson (portrayed as a wild boar or a jackass) are quite common in worn condition. The tokens of this period have been the subject of several books (the current standard reference is Hard Times Tokens by Russell Rulau, Second Edition) and bring the highest prices of any American tokens after the Colonial period; $6,000 was paid for a single token at the March 26-27, 1980 Garrett Sale, and many other tokens brought four-figure prices.
