(1835-8) Token HT-223, New York NY

Coin Details

Description

This New York City token from 1835–38 is sequentially numbered after HT-222, indicating either the same merchant produced both pieces or related businesses issued tokens during the same period. The shared date range covers the critical transition from economic expansion to financial crisis in America's commercial capital. Merchants who survived the transition from boom to bust during 1835–38 needed resilience, conservative financial management, and the ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions. Many New York businesses failed during the Panic, unable to collect debts owed to them while facing demands from their own creditors. Those who survived often did so by maintaining cash reserves, reducing inventory, and finding creative ways to sustain customer relationships—including the use of merchant tokens that kept their names in circulation even during the worst of the crisis. The sequential numbering of New York tokens in the Rulau catalog generally follows a geographic or thematic organization, grouping merchants by neighborhood, trade, or other shared characteristics. HT-222 through HT-224 represent merchants with some common attribute that led the cataloger to place them in sequence.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. NYC merchant token from the 1835-38 transition period.

Cross References

Rulau HT-223