(1833-5) Token HT-229, New York, Bale & Smith NY

Coin Details

Description

This token from Bale & Smith, engravers and die cutters at 68 Nassau Street, New York, advertises one of the most important firms in Hard Times token production. The reverse identifies their services: "Plates & Rolls For Embossing Dies & Seals of Every Description." Bale & Smith were not merely token merchants—they were the craftsmen who manufactured tokens and dies for other merchants throughout the eastern United States. The firm's 68 Nassau Street location placed them in New York's printing and publishing district, where engravers, printers, and publishers concentrated near the major newspapers and financial institutions of lower Manhattan. Bale & Smith's expertise in die-cutting made them natural producers of merchant tokens, and their own advertising pieces served as both self-promotion and demonstrations of their craftsmanship. The HT-227 through HT-230 range encompasses multiple Bale & Smith pieces, including varieties featuring a bust of George Washington on the obverse—a stock design the firm used both for their own tokens and as an available obverse die that other merchants could pair with custom reverse dies. This production model, where a single die-cutting firm maintained a library of stock obverse designs, explains why unrelated merchants' tokens sometimes share identical obverse imagery.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Die-cutting firm that manufactured many Hard Times tokens. Nassau Street engravers.

Cross References

Rulau HT-229