This is a brass version of The Roman Firmness Hard Times Token. The brass is much more scarce than the copper version. This was minted in the 1830's.
Okay here goes ... Low 51 is one of the most common HTTs. It satirizes Andrew Jackson’s monetary reforms, stubbornness and the fact that Harvard University awarded him with an honorary degree. The obverse shows Jackson emerging from the strongbox brandishing a sword and holding a bag of money. This refers to Jackson’s policy to reduce the weight of U.S. gold coins to a level where they could circulate within the United States. It also satirizes Jackson's "pet bank" policy where he removed the U.S. Government deposits at the Bank of the United States and put them in "pet banks." At the same time, Jackson hoped to drive most of the paper money out of circulation. The banks during this period were charted by the states and usually poorly regulated. The value of the paper money they issued was frequently suspect. Jackson thought that it would be best for farmers and wage earners to conduct their transactions with gold and silver. The reverse satirizes Jackson’s veto of a bill that would have given The Bank of the United States a new 20 year charter. The bank had been chartered in 1816 and was one of the stabilizing factors in the U.S. economy. Jackson's veto became the major in the 1832 presidential election. His opponent, Henry Clay, supported a new charter. Jackson won the election easily. The jack ass with the “LLD” on its belly is a bad pun on Jackson’s name. People who didn’t like Jackson considered him to be very stubborn, like a mule. The “LLD” refers to an honorary Doctor of Law degree that Harvard awarded to Jackson. Harvard alums, like John Quincy Adams, thought this was outrageous. In their opinion, Jackson was an ignoramus who could barely write his name. Some people think that this was the first Democratic Party donkey. Here is a higher grade, but much more common piece in copper that shows all of the design details.
