Here's a nice ERROR Hard Times Token, a HT-20 struck about 10% off center. HTT errors are not unheard of, but there aren't too many floating around. Clipped planchets are probably the most common type encountered. Off-center strikes are fairly scarce, and multiple strikes and brockages are rare.
FORUMS
POST YOUR HARD TIMES TOKENS!
EXOJUNKIE
40 Posts
Juno Moneta
26 Posts
I've always really liked the Webster/Constitution issues, it's even more dramatic on the 'wreck' side when it's off-center - NICE! Thanks for showing it.
7 years ago
user_20458
12 Posts
@Pliny The Elder
I have been collecting Presidential tokens lately, and I believe some of them are also Hard Times Tokens. This one is of them. It shows William Henry Harrison and it was gilt but some of that has worn off. Still pretty, and with a good pedigree also. Great token but in not good condition
Pliny The Elder
36 Posts
@user_20458
@Pliny The Elder
I have been collecting Presidential tokens lately, and I believe some of them are also Hard Times Tokens. This one is of them. It shows William Henry Harrison and it was gilt but some of that has worn off. Still pretty, and with a good pedigree also. Great token but in not good condition How kind of you to notice. For me it is in great condition and I love it a lot. It is why I shared it.
CoinLady
77 Posts
My fav has to be the Anti-Slavery token. The one with the man is rare, I think only 3 or 4 known. I thought one was at Harpers Ferry, but when I was there I didn't see it.
EXOJUNKIE
40 Posts
@Pliny The Elder
@user_20458
@Pliny The Elder
I have been collecting Presidential tokens lately, and I believe some of them are also Hard Times Tokens. This one is of them. It shows William Henry Harrison and it was gilt but some of that has worn off. Still pretty, and with a good pedigree also. Great token but in not good condition How kind of you to notice. For me it is in great condition and I love it a lot. It is why I shared it. @Pliny -- Your Harrison token is in typical condition for its age. You should know that they were all made with a hole and were meant to be worn pinned to clothing to show support for the candidate. That said, the token will be more original if the material that is filling in the hole can be safely and easily removed. If it cannot be safely removed then I don't recommend trying it. Enjoy your token!
EXOJUNKIE
40 Posts
EXOJUNKIE
40 Posts
Mike
1224 Posts
Hi great examples of hard times tokens I have a few but any errors like a doubled die are not recognised. The same for civil war tokens because ere and how the were made. It doesn't add to the value unfortunately. No matter what's wrong with it. I have two like that and it means nothing. Check the books. I was upset I thought a few dollars at least. But no. The Bee Hive looks exactly like a conder token from England. Wouldn't be surprised if they came Rom there I have to figure out how to check that. Thanks for a good one. Mike
5 years ago
Michael Marotta
103 Posts
Odd that I do not have any right now... I always found the politcal messages compelling because they revealed so much about the times. Print media were the only mass media. So, if you wanted to participate, you had to be literate.
Among the many facts that these tokens reveal is that the so-called "Hard Times" did not begin or end with the Panic of 1837. Hard Times Tokens are closely associated with Andrew Jackson's second term from 1833, but continued into the administration of John Tyler in 1844--at least according to the cataloguers, Lyman Low and Rusell Rulau. The 2nd Edition of Standard Catalog of United States Tokens 1700-1900 delineates HTTs from the other Merchant tokens 1845-1860, but there is no obvious transition.
I have the Historical Statistics of the United States Colonial Times to 1957 from the US Dept of Commerce. You can find it online from the St. Louis Federal Reserve here. (https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/files/docs/publications/histstatus/hstat_1957_cen_1957.pdf)
It is a challenge to find definite points on the curve to say where the "hard times" began and ended.
What may be clearest is that the election of Andrew Jackson signaled a shift in the extent and depth of democratic engagement. Remember that Jackson claimed that he was robbed of his victory in 1824 by a "corrupt bargain" in Congress. In 1832 he won re-election and a clear mandate "to kill the monster Bank" which (arguably) led to the Panic of 1837 and the resulting "Hard Times." But the truth is always complicated... knowable, but complicated.