Did you know Stack’s Bowers Galleries is featuring a special offering of Hard Times token scarcities and rarities, featuring an impressive selection of tokens from the Q. David Bowers Collection in our official auction of the Whitman Coin Summer Expo? The auction is now online for viewing and bidding. Keep reading for a little background on Hard Times Tokens.
The field of so-called Hard Times Tokens covers mostly cent-sized issues from about 1832 to 1844, extending a bit before the true Hard Times era in economic history, as that commenced in the spring of 1837. Such tokens are divided into two main groups, store cards issued by merchants, and those bearing political messages.
In the 1880s dealer Lyman H. Low took an interest in these and prepared several listings of varieties, utilizing some work done earlier by J.N.T. Levick. In 1899 Low’s Hard Times Tokens book was published, followed by a revised edition soon afterward and a supplement in 1906 (which included the H. Herring unique Baltimore token that will be offered in the June Baltimore auction). Eventually, Low listed nearly 200 varieties, these being combinations of dies as well as strikings in different metals. Collecting Hard Times tokens became a specialty and throughout the 20th century a number of numismatists concentrated in this field, with such names as William Forrester Dunham, Donald Miller, George L. Tilden, F.C.C. Boyd, Robert Schuman, John J. Ford, Jr., and others coming to mind. Most have collected these with a passion, giving a proverbial eyetooth to acquire a “Low number” token not already possessed.
In the late 20th century Russell Rulau has vastly expanded on the 1832-1844 tokens described by Low, added much historical data and research information, and has devised a new series of “HTT numbers.” These designations have been coming into use, at first supplanting the Low numbers, and in recent times superseding them. Rulau’s Standard Catalog of U.S. Tokens 1700-1900 is out of print, but used copies are available.
In 2014 Whitman Publishing issued a new book on the series by Q. David Bowers, The Encyclopedia of Hard Times Tokens—Political Tokens and Store Cards 1832-1844: A History and Price Guide to Types and Varieties. Copies are available today from the Whitman website or elsewhere on the Internet.
Completion is not a realistic goal in this series any more than it is for colonial coins or paper money. Most collectors review listings and select pieces of special interest. Each token offers a generous measure of history, and one of the joys of collecting Hard Times tokens is learning about their background. Today, searches on the Internet make this a very pleasurable experience.
