(1835-38) Token HT-308, Robert B. Ruggles NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$528 MS62BN 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

Dated 1835, this copper Hard Times token (HT-308) is a merchant advertising piece issued by Robert B. Ruggles NY of New York. During the economic turbulence of the 1830s and 1840s, businesses throughout the United States issued small copper and brass tokens that served the dual purpose of advertising their establishments and providing substitute small change during periods when government coinage was hoarded or unavailable. Merchant Hard Times tokens (HT-81 and above in the Rulau catalog) constitute the largest category of Hard Times tokens, with hundreds of different varieties representing businesses from across the eastern United States. These tokens typically bear the merchant's name, location, and line of business on one side, with patriotic imagery, political slogans, or trade symbols on the other. They circulated at face value alongside official government coinage and are now prized by collectors as fascinating artifacts of antebellum American commercial life. The Panic of 1837 and the resulting depression created conditions where small change virtually disappeared from circulation, as the public hoarded coins of intrinsic value. Merchants responded by issuing their own tokens, which were accepted by other businesses and the general public as a practical medium of exchange.

Rarity Notes

HT-308 is part of the extensive Hard Times token series cataloged by Russell Rulau. Condition varies considerably, as these tokens circulated alongside official coinage during the economic depression of the late 1830s and early 1840s.

Cross References

HT-308; PCGS #77602; NGC #854772