(1834) Copper Token HT-427, W.A. Handy RI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$408 MS62BN 03-31-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1834 copper token from W.A. Handy of Rhode Island advertises a merchant who operated in one of America's smallest but most commercially active states. Rhode Island's economy in the 1830s combined manufacturing — particularly textiles in the Blackstone Valley — with maritime commerce centered on Providence and Newport. Handy's token documents commercial activity in a state that, despite its diminutive size, was among the most industrialized in the nation. The 1834 date places this token early in the Hard Times era, before the Panic of 1837 transformed advertising novelties into genuine emergency currency. Rhode Island merchants operated in close proximity to the Attleboro manufacturing district just across the Massachusetts border, giving them convenient access to the die-cutting and token-striking services that Massachusetts metalworking firms offered. Rhode Island's representation in the Hard Times Token series is modest — a handful of merchant issues plus the well-known Clark & Anthony tokens (HT-425) from Providence. The W.A. Handy token adds to this small but interesting group, documenting a merchant whose commercial footprint is preserved in this durable copper advertisement.

Rarity Notes

Common. Standard copper variety. Rarity R-1 to R-2.

Cross References

Rulau HT-427