Featured Hard Times Tokens; What Are They

These types of tokens were produced from 1832 to 1843 but the Hard Times were from 1837 to 1842. They were mainly produced to support commerce as times were hard. To understand what happened, what occurred at that point in the history of the United States and how they came into usage in commerce, it is essential to involve political understanding of the events.

There is no political statement here and remember the time frame. This took place 185 years ago. It’s history that helped produce tokens that today, have become very collectible. It is that understanding that I’m aiming for.

So what are Hard Times Tokens (HTT)? They are copper, Large or Half Cent sized and they were struck from around 1833 through 1843. They served as unofficial currency in the US. The HTT are privately made comprising merchants, political and satirical pieces. They were used during a time of political and financial crisis in the United States.

The year was 1832 and President Andrew Jackson ran for re-election. He called for the abolition of the Second Bank of the United States. He won the election but he worked to weaken the bank prior to the election. The Banks charter expired in 1836. Without the Bank of the United States, state banks attempted to fill the paper money gap. They issued a large number of bank notes, which added fuel to inflation.

In an attempt to halt the inflation and speculation in public lands, Jackson and his Treasury secretary, Levi Woodbury, issued the Specie Circular on July 11, 1836. The circular simply stated that as of August 15 1836, banks and others who received public money were required to accept only gold and silver coins in payment for public lands.

This did not produce the results that were expected but rather created an end of economic prosperity. The Specie Circular set into motion a panic. The public began hoarding specie. Without the specie to pay out, banks and merchants began having financial troubles. It didn’t take long before the effects of President Jackson's decision were felt across the nation. Banks and businesses failed, and soon a depression began.

Jackson's vice president, Martin Van Buren, was now the elected president in office. This period of economic hardship, along with the Panic of 1837, came to be known as “Hard Times", during the early years of Martin Van Buren’s presidency.

The Specie Circular is a United States presidential executive order issued by President Andrew Jackson in 1836 pursuant to the Coinage Act. It simply required payment for government land to be in gold and silver.

The Specie Circular was a reaction to the growing concerns about excessive speculations of land after the Indian removal, which was mostly done with soft currency. The sale of public lands increased five times between 1834 and 1836. Speculators paid for these purchases with depreciating paper money. While government law already demanded that land purchases be completed with specie or paper notes from specie-backed banks, a large portion of buyers used paper money from state banks not backed by hard money as a consequence of Jackson's veto of the rechartering of the Second Bank of the United States.

This order was one of Jackson's last acts in office, causing most of its consequences to occur during and so it was attributed to the presidency of Martin Van Buren. The devaluation of paper currency only increased with Jackson's proclamation. This sent inflation and prices upwards.


Many people at that time (and historians subsequently) blamed the Specie Circular for the rise in prices and the creating the Panic of 1837. Cries of "Rescind the circular!" went up and former President Jackson sent word to Van Buren asking him not to rescind the order. Jackson believed that it had to be given enough time to work. Lobbying efforts, especially by bankers, increased in Washington in an attempt to revoke the Specie Circular.

Others, like Nicholas Biddle, believed that Jackson's defeat of the Second Bank of the United States was directly responsible for the irresponsible creation of paper money by the state banks which had precipitated this crisis.

The restrictions on credit caused by the order resulted in numerous bankruptcies and the failure of smaller banks. In the South the resulting recession drove down cotton prices well into the 1840s. Small farmers who had bought land on credit were unable to meet their loan repayments with their income from staple crops cut by a half. When they defaulted, their land and slaves were repossessed and sold at auction, usually to already well-established slaveholders. Some farmers were able to keep a few acres and make a living for themselves and their families. Most lost everything and fell into tenancy and sharecropping. When the cotton market finally recovered, affluent slaveholders held nearly all the South’s best land.

Because of this act, the Democratic party split in two ways. Some, like Thomas Hart Benton, supported the use of sound money. The Locofoco wing of the party also agreed with Benton. Senators Nathaniel P. Tallmadge and William C. Rives supported the other side of the party, in favor of paper money. In the United States House of Representatives, John Bell even challenged his own party member, James K. Polk, for his position as Speaker of the House of Representatives over the issue.

In today’s coinage you expect to see the phrase, “E Pluribus Unum”. But 185 years ago how would you like to see the phrase “I take the responsibility” on a coin or a token acting as a coin? What a depressing message!

The answer deals with former President Andrew Jackson, the Panic of 1837, and the copper shortages.
These unusual coins are called Hard Times Tokens. Being as HTT were privately minted they carried messages reflecting public sentiment, not magnanimous government phrases. These coins with their odd phrases and comedic portraits of then-President Jackson were the original meme. How did they come to be?

In 1832, President Jackson vetoed a bill that would have prolonged the existence of the Second Bank of the United States. The move was bold but the public supported it. Many believed the bank acted unfairly by favoring northern interests over those of citizens living in the south or out west. The move, however, created an interruption in the money supply. State banks attempted to resolve this problem by increasing their banknote issuance. As a result, inflation took hold of the nation. Jackson took action. He issued a “Specie Circular”.

The idea behind this move was that demanding gold and silver would solve the problem of people purchasing land with a state-issued paper currency that lacked “hard money” backing. This move only devalued paper money more; after all, it was no longer good for land purchases. The Specie Circular and the Deposit and Distribution Act of 1836, which moved much of the gold and silver away from commercial centers, precipitated the Panic of 1837. As a result, many small banks failed. Gold and silver disappeared from circulation. People still had copper cents but supplies were thin.

Private minters responded to this development by creating Hard Time Tokens. One version shows a turtle carrying a large treasure chest on its shell. The phrasing encircling this picture reads, “Executive Experiment”. Others include anti-slavery slogans. HTT’s have a special place in history. They represent not only the resourcefulness of the American people during trying economic times, but they also reflect the pervasive sense of injustice.

These tokens fall into one of three categories. The first is political satire pieces which illustrate the public’s frustration with the president and the Federal Government. The second category consists of advertisement pieces that spread the word on merchants, products, and services. And the third group is made up of those designed simply to resemble an ordinary United States cent.

Minters issued these pieces between 1832 and 1844. Some of these HTT even state “Not a Cent” or some other phrase along that line. This long duration means that many still survive today. Today, they are highly
collectible and usually very affordable as coins or as political history.

The close approximation of some HTT’s to official United States coinage may have prompted the 1838 indictment of William H. Scovill for counterfeiting. His token advertises dry-goods purveyor Chamberlain Woodruff & Scranton of Fairhaven on one side and grocers Hotchkiss Hall & Platts on the other.

Another one of Scovill’s HTT states, “Shin plasters”. That was the satirical name given to the worthless paper money issued by many banks in the 1830s. There are many more. National, state, and local politics in the 1830s and 1840s revolved around the struggle for power between the parties that existed at that time. The one party opposed President Jackson’s policies as dangerous “experiments.”

More than 600 varieties of hard times tokens have been identified. About half are positively identified as being made by twelve makers. Of these makers, Scovill & Co. was the most prolific, producing 90 varieties. The high quality of the Scovill tokens is directly attributable to the skill of William Eaves, a die-cutter from Birmingham, England.

In 1888, H.N. Johnson, head of the department of numismatics of the Western Reserve and Northern Ohio Historical Society, commented about the Scovill HTT being produced in Waterbury, Conn. This was the home of the button factory owned by the Scovill’s. They passed as currency, being of good metal and weight.

The resumption of specie payments by banks in 1842 drastically reduced the need for hard times tokens as currency. Many remained in circulation, but they gradually disappeared.

Many tokens in both private and public collections show evidence of much usage. The Scovill hard times tokens are vivid reminders of the political passions of the 1830s.

This is one of those tokens. Produced and issued by opponents of Andrew Jackson, it reminds me that politics are basically the same after all these years. The obverse of this HTT features Jackson emerging from a chest with no lid. He is raising a sword and in his other hand is a bag of money. This is symbolic of the military and the treasury.

The concern was extremely high in the 1830’s of giving the Executive Branch that much power. This is still reflected today. No lid is on the chest which is meant to resemble a toy, the Jack In A Box. A translation to another language is “devil in a box”. The obverse is a tiny bit off centered.

The reverse features a jackass with L.L.D., which gives meaning to Jackson’s critics calling him a jackass and receiving an honorary degree from Harvard. The ROMAN FIRMNESS is above the animal meaning he was a stubborn and obstinate man. The word VETO is under the jackass which is what Jackson did, he vetoed a bill to save the Second Bank of the United States, a bank which he wanted gone.

This particular HTT has the initial “H” and it stands for the die cutter, Edward Hulseman. He was a employed by the button making firm, Robinson’s, Jones & Co. from 1833-1836.

 

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Very interesting and nicely put together piece. A subject I previously knew nothing whatsoever about. Thank you for the enlightenment

 

Neat, I think it makes Jackson look like a demented Jack-in-the-box. I picked up this example at the Baltimore coin show a few years ago, mainly because I liked the turtle:

 

Thank you.

 

That’s a nice one. I think I have one around here somewhere. Lol I do like the turtle as well.

 

Great write up. I have a few to share:

Some context for the reverse of the turtle one: (Jackson was called a "Jackass" so there's a donkey to portray him.)



"Not One Cent" - (so its not considered counterfeiting, as the obverse looks similar to that of the current large cent of the time.)

 

Very nice indeed CN, thank you.

 

I read somewhere that Andrew Jackson was against any type of paper currency, yet he is featured on the $20 bill. Go figure!

 

A wonderful history lession. I have a few of the HTT's but little knowledge about them. Thank you

 

https://acdwyer.com/stories/million...te,an end to French attacks on American ships.

 

Few years back at a coin show, Denver I believe. A very interesting gentleman named WC “Buck” Burgess Jr ( just dug up his card ) had a table. Anyway he was selling books that he had put together himself on these tokens 25$ if I remember correctly. Very interesting and propelled me to by a few

 

New one this year. HT9
https://www.coinsarefun.com/htt-s-cwt-tokens/92-tokens/87-hard-times-tokens

 

very nice article! a good read
I've only recently started looking at these... like I don't have enough stuff I'm trying to fill already lol

 

Thanks, CN, that is a very well written historical summary.

 

There are so many and I’m fascinated by them. Please, post them if you have them and enjoy them for as long as you possibly can.