Hey guys, I scored a small batch of Hard Times Tokens at the Early Amreican Coppers convention. I finally sat down to attribute them, and came upon one which I can't find in the literature. It's a Daniel Webster / Martin Van Buren Shipwreck token (see picture). It is similar to HTs 18 through 22, but doesn't match any of them exactly. I'm using the books "Standard Catalog of US Tokens" (Rulau) and "Guide Book of US Tokens and Medals" (Jaeger / Bowers). The issue is the Van Buren "shipwreck" side. Note the broken mast; every listing I've seen with a broken mast also has lightning bolts, which this one lacks. Can anyone attribute this little fella ? As always, any comments and grading opinions are welcome.
I'd say it is an HT 20. It is faint but the uppermost lightning bolt IS there. Why they are so weak I can't say. The coin shows some signs that the die was heavily polished but to lose almost all the lightning like that I would expect a lot more weakness in other places as well. I can't buy a grease fill because of how selective it is. Losing the bolt on both sides of where it passes through a letter but not lose the letter too? I would bet that the lightning was tooled off a long time ago to create a "new" variety. Back at the turn of the 19th century HT's were HOT and a "new" variety would have brought a lot of money.
"Upon further review..." Yes, by George, I think he's got it ! Close inspection reveals one lightning bolt. I think the die lapping / grinding / polishing theory is reasonable. HT20 it is !!! Thanks, Conder ! :high5:
