This 1837 Hard Times Token is by far my personal favorite. This reverse is used on many tokens of the era, it reflects the views of many Americans during this hard depression.
For those of you that like chasing down the various varieties, here is the obverse of the 1837 Token.
reminds me of the coronet. nd, what is the history behind the reverse? mainly, millions for defence. i like this coin alot.
Nice, I like those old tokens. I bought a large cent deal a few weeks ago and there was a handful of them, including one very similiar to yours, ND. It's hard to find nice ones. So many have been damaged over the years.
Well the quote on the reverse "Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute" was a quote taken from the Naval battle of tripoli. They estimate around 10 to 20 million hard time tokens were made. They would cost about a half cent to produce and were used by merchants in exchange for one cent. So the profit was there. Many exist from store merchants, political slogans, anti-slavery, and many others. Depending on the rarity of these tokens, most can be picked up for around $15 If you can do any reading about Andrew Jackson and his presidency, you will see how America came very close to failing.
Nice token. I happen to have that one. (HT-48, R1) My personal favorite tokens are Merchant Tokens from my local area and hometown. These were used during the late 1800's and early to mid 1900's. They were often "good for" amounts ranging from 1 cent to 1 dollar. I also love the old streetcar tokens. The history behind these things is facinating. I can't help but laugh when I see how much people pay for National Banknotes, that have the name of their hometown on them. Of course, they are nice, and I have a lot of respect for currency collectors. Personally, I'd rather have a token, that cost a few dollars, than a note, that cost a few hundred dollars.
National Bank Notes are really hot now. I have clients that search for them all the time. I spend many hours a week in search of them.
