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Message:: [QUOTE="John Anthony, post: 2127408, member: 42773"]If anyone bemoans the lack of civility in modern US politics and yearns for a kinder, gentler time, this token should convince them that such a time never existed. Here is a caustic lampooning of Andrew Jackson by his detractors. On the obverse, he is pictured coming out of a chest, holding a sword and money-bag, symbolic of the military and treasury. There was a great deal of concern about the dangers of allowing the Executive Branch that much power, a concern that still resonates today. There isn't a lid to the chest that Jackson is in, but I can't help but associate this image with a clown popping out of a jack-in-the-box. It was a popular toy in the 19th-century, also known by its French name diable en boîte, or "devil in a box." The phrases "I take the responsibility," and "The constitution as I understand it," were both spoken by Jackson. On this token they are obviously spoofed by the devices. Jackson was called "jackass" by his critics, and L.L.D refers to the honorary doctorate conferred on him by Harvard - a jackass branded with a degree. So what we have is a clown taking responsibility, and the constitution as a jackass sees it. Quite a difference from Jackson's regal portrait on the twenty-dollar bill. I'm not certain what "Roman Firmness" refers to, and I assume the letter H under the chest is a die-cutter's initial. [ATTACH=full]404464[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]