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by Michael E. Marotta, 31 May 1994
(This upload originally appeared in Topic 43 of the Well Collectibles Conference.)
I answered an ad in Numismatic News offering 100 midwest tokens for $15.00. Mostly they were from North Dakota and South Dakota. I also bought 50 tokens for $3.50, which brought me a lot of maverick video gamers but also a lot of trolley and bus tokens, as well as some good-fors. I had already bought my first two Hard Times Tokens (Low 18 and Low 44). I bought a civil war merchant's card. One Fourth of July, I caught a couple of wooden nickels good for popcorn at the local movie theater. Last summer I got a wooden from an ice cream parlor one town over. At a coin store, I bought a token from an LA Goodyear Dealer (still redeemable; I called). Right now, I am investigating coal company scrip.
From about 1834 to about 1844, a series of economic changes brought "hard times." In truth, most people's daily lives were not affected. Also, unlike the Great Depression (1929-1941), the period was one of changes for better and worse over the short term. The event that defines this era was the veto of the renewal of the charter of the Bank of the United States by Andrew Jackson in 1832. The BUS was slated to close in 1836, but Jackson didn't wait. He withdrew Treasury money from the BUS. (Interestingly, the Treasury had an embarrassment of riches. The US was without debt.) However, when the BUS closed, credit collapsed.
"I take the responsibilty", says Andrew Jackson, standing in an empty treasure chest. Martin Van Buren's ship of state has tattered sails on the obverse of a coin; the reverse shows Henry Clay's sails billowing. "I follow in the steps of my illustrious predecessor", says the jackass on the obverse while the reverse shows a treasure chest being borne off by a turtle. "Good for shinplasters" refers to worthless paper money used as stuffing in boots. Some, to avoid charges of counterfeiting bear the slogan "Millions for defense NOT ONE CENT for tribute."
These tokens were about the size of a US Large Cent, just under 3 cm across, hefting over 10 grams. They were an east coast phenomenon, since metals, dies, etc., were found near industry. (Twenty five years later, Civil War tokens were issued from Michigan, Indiana, etc.) The fact that they are found today in middle grades around Fine indicates that they actually circulated in trade.
America eventually recovered from the Panic of 1837. The debt rose. Finances moved from Chestnut Street in Philadelphia to Wall Street in New York. Hard times tokens retired to dressers and chests as government cents (soon smaller) circulated again.
Michael E. Marotta
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