(1834) Token HT-121, New Orleans LA

Coin Details

Description

This brass token advertises J. Hall, Walker & Walton, importers of and dealers in hardware and ship chandlery at No. 17 New Levee, New Orleans. The obverse identifies the partnership and date of 1834, while the reverse details their extensive inventory: "Fine Cutlery, Guns, Pistols, Iron, Nails & Castings, Burr Blocks, Mill Stones & C." The token measures approximately 33.6mm in diameter. The New Levee was New Orleans' commercial waterfront district where ship chandleries supplied vessels navigating the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. The firm's inventory reflects the diverse needs of the maritime and frontier trades—fine cutlery for officers and merchants, firearms for self-defense, iron and nails for construction and repair, and millstones for the agricultural processing essential to plantation agriculture. This partnership represents the earliest phase of a business that evolved through several name changes at the same 17 New Levee address: "J. Hall, Walker & Walton" (1834, HT-121), then "Walton, Walker & Co" (1836, HT-129), and finally "Walton & Co" (1841–44, HT-128). Tracing this succession through their tokens documents how a New Orleans commercial firm weathered the Hard Times through partnership reorganization.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Brass, 33.6mm. First in the Hall/Walker/Walton succession at 17 New Levee.

Cross References

Rulau HT-121