(1832) Token HT-1, Andrew Jackson

Coin Details

Description

This token is one of the earliest and most significant political Hard Times Tokens, struck in 1832 to commemorate Andrew Jackson's veto of the recharter bill for the Second Bank of the United States. The obverse depicts Jackson's bust facing left with the legend "ANDREW JACKSON PRESIDENT" around the border. The reverse displays a donkey (representing the Democratic Party) running left with the inscription "THE BANK MUST PERISH" and the date 1832. Jackson's July 10, 1832 veto of the Bank recharter bill was a watershed moment in American political history. The Second Bank, headquartered in Philadelphia and headed by Nicholas Biddle, had functioned as the nation's quasi-central bank since 1816. Jackson viewed it as an unconstitutional monopoly that concentrated excessive financial power in the hands of a privileged few. His veto message, largely drafted by Attorney General Roger B. Taney and adviser Amos Kendall, framed the Bank as an instrument of aristocratic privilege antithetical to democratic governance. This copper token circulated as an informal cent-sized piece during the coin shortage that accompanied the economic disruption of the Bank War period. The donkey motif, which Jackson's opponents used to characterize him as stubborn and obstinate, was later embraced by Democrats as a party symbol — ultimately becoming the official mascot of the Democratic Party through Thomas Nast's cartoons decades later.

Rarity Notes

Common. Among the most available Hard Times Tokens. Low-5 rarity on the Rulau scale. Thousands struck, with many surviving in collectible grades.

Cross References

Low 1; Rulau HT-1; DeWitt CE-1832-19