(1834-35) Copper Token HT-286, H. Law

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,840 MS66BN 06-02-2010 Goldberg Auctioneers

Description

This copper token from H. Law advertises a bakery at 187 Canal Street in New York City. Law produced English bread, twist bread, and fancy cakes — specialties that distinguished his shop from the common American bakeries that dominated the city's bread trade. English-style baking emphasized lighter textures and more refined flour preparation, appealing to customers with British tastes or aspirations to gentility. Canal Street in the 1830s was a major commercial thoroughfare connecting the Hudson River waterfront to the Bowery and points east. The street's position at the boundary between lower Manhattan's established neighborhoods and the newer development to the north made it a high-traffic location for a retail bakery. Law's specialization in fancy cakes alongside everyday bread indicates a business serving both daily necessities and special occasions. The token's small diameter distinguishes it from the standard 28mm cent-sized merchant tokens, indicating it served a specific commercial function — as a bread token redeemable for a loaf, rather than purely as an advertising piece circulating at face value.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Small-format baker token. Rarity R-3.

Cross References

Rulau HT-286