(1830s) Token HT-207B, Newark NJ

Coin Details

Description

This variant of the Newark, New Jersey token differs from HT-207A in die state, edge, or metallic composition. Newark's position as a major manufacturing center in the 1830s supported a diverse commercial community that included leather workers, jewelers, brewers, and the merchants who supplied and served these industries. The variant designation reflects production differences that collectors use to distinguish otherwise similar pieces. Newark tokens, while less numerous than those from New York or Philadelphia, are valuable additions to any Hard Times collection for the geographic breadth they provide and the documentation they offer of commercial activity in America's emerging industrial cities. Newark's evolution from an agricultural market town to a manufacturing powerhouse was well underway by the 1830s. The city's skilled workforce, reliable water power, and excellent transportation connections to New York City created conditions favorable for industrial growth that would accelerate through the remainder of the nineteenth century.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Variant of the Newark, New Jersey merchant token.

Cross References

Rulau HT-207B