(1835) Token HT-137, Baltimore MD

Coin Details

Description

This 1835 Baltimore token is the final entry in a group of three sequentially-numbered pieces (HT-135A, 136, 137) sharing the same city and date attribution. Whether these three tokens represent the same merchant in different die states or three different Baltimore businesses operating in the same year, they collectively document the commercial activity of Maryland's largest city during the mid-1830s. Baltimore's diverse economy in 1835 supported a wide range of merchants who issued tokens. The city was home to flour mills, iron foundries, textile manufacturers, and the extensive maritime commerce of the Inner Harbor and Fells Point. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was expanding westward, connecting the city to the agricultural interior and creating new commercial opportunities for merchants supplying the railroad's construction crews and the settlers moving west along the route. The grouping of these three tokens in immediate sequence within the Rulau catalog indicates they were acquired or identified together, from the same collection or the same commercial district within Baltimore. Further research in Baltimore city directories from the 1830s could potentially identify the specific merchants behind these pieces.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Part of the 1835 Baltimore merchant token group.

Cross References

Rulau HT-137