✅ SOLVED I thought it was a bank token but....

[Groundhogg]

I thought it was a bank token but it says "down with the bank." I think it's copper and about 1 1/8 inch in diameter. Seems heavy for the size. Thanks for looking.

 

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[UnderMiner]

That's an 1834 Andrew Jackson era hard times token, made as a result of the Specie Circular, which demanded that banks only accept gold and silver as forms of payment for the purchasing of public lands. So people began hoarding all coins since paper money wasn't accepted for large purchases. This resulted in people minting their own coins to make up for the lack of coins in circulation. I'm pretty sure yours is the first hard times token in US history. There would be many more varieties privately minted up until Abraham Lincoln and congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864 which made them illegal.

 

[Groundhogg]

That's an 1834 Andrew Jackson era hard times token, made as a result of the Specie Circular, which demanded that banks only accept gold and silver as forms of payment for the purchasing of public lands. So people began hoarding all coins since paper money wasn't accepted for large purchases. This resulted in people minting their own coins to make up for the lack of coins in circulation. I'm pretty sure yours is the first hard times token in US history. There would be many more varieties privately minted up until Abraham Lincoln and congress passed the Coinage Act of 1864 which made them illegal.

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Thanks UnderMiner!
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