(1832-33) Copper Token HT-341, Wright & Bale NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,560 MS64BN 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This copper token from the engraving firm of Wright & Bale in New York City features a portrait of Benjamin Franklin on the obverse — one of the most artistically accomplished designs in the entire Hard Times Token series. The Franklin portrait serves triple duty: as an advertisement for the firm's engraving capabilities, as a tribute to the great polymath whose motto "TIME IS MONEY" and whose maxims in Poor Richard's Almanack embodied the commercial values of the token-using public, and as a practical cent substitute. Wright & Bale were professional die sinkers and engravers who used this token as a "business card" to showcase their artistic and technical skills. The quality of the Franklin portrait — with its careful rendering of facial features, hair, and drapery — demonstrated to potential customers the level of craftsmanship they could expect when commissioning dies, seals, or other engraved products from the firm. The Franklin portrait appeals to multiple collecting specialties: Hard Times Token collectors value it as a merchant token, Frankliniania collectors seek it as a portrait of their subject, and die variety specialists appreciate the technical accomplishment of the engraving. This crossover appeal makes the Wright & Bale Franklin token one of the most actively traded and widely appreciated pieces in the entire merchant subseries.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. The artistic quality and crossover collector appeal make this a sought-after piece. Rarity R-2.

Cross References

Low 149; Rulau HT-341