(1835) Copper Token HT-433, Gustin & Blake VT

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,020 XF40BN 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1835 copper token from Gustin & Blake of Vermont documents a mercantile partnership in the Green Mountain State during the mid-1830s. Vermont contributed relatively few varieties to the Hard Times Token series — the state's rural economy and small population generated less commercial token activity than the more urbanized states of Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Gustin & Blake tokens are among the most significant Vermont representations in the series. Vermont's economy in the 1830s remained predominantly agricultural, with sheep farming, dairy production, and maple sugar providing the principal sources of commercial income. Towns along the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain served as trading centers where farmers exchanged their products for manufactured goods imported from southern New England and New York. Merchants like Gustin & Blake operated in this commercial environment, stocking the household goods, tools, and provisions that rural Vermont families needed. The production of advertising tokens by a Vermont firm indicates connections to the metalworking manufacturers of neighboring Massachusetts or Connecticut. Vermont lacked the die-cutting and token-striking infrastructure that existed in Attleboro or Waterbury, so Gustin & Blake would have contracted with an out-of-state manufacturer to produce their tokens.

Rarity Notes

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

Cross References

Rulau HT-433