(1835) Token HT-98, Mobile Al

Coin Details

Auction Record

$67 AU53 01-28-2018 eBay

Description

This brass token advertises Hunt, Pynchon & Jackson, importers of hardware and cutlery in Mobile, Alabama. The obverse features an anvil, plow, and rifle—universal symbols of the hardware and agricultural trades—with the firm's name and city. The token measures approximately 27.3mm in diameter and represents one of only two Alabama merchant tokens in the entire Hard Times series. Mobile was Alabama's primary port city in the 1830s, serving as the shipping point for cotton produced on the plantations of the Black Belt and Tennessee Valley. The city's waterfront handled enormous volumes of cotton bales destined for Liverpool, New York, and New England mills, and the commercial infrastructure that supported this trade included hardware importers who supplied planters with agricultural implements, building materials, and household goods. Hunt, Pynchon & Jackson's inventory of hardware, cutlery, and agricultural implements served the needs of Alabama's rapidly expanding plantation economy. The firm imported European-manufactured tools, cutlery, and ironware through Mobile's port, distributing them to planters, merchants, and settlers throughout the Alabama frontier. The partnership's three-name structure indicates a well-capitalized firm with the resources to maintain extensive import relationships.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Brass, 27.3mm. One of only two Alabama Hard Times merchant tokens.

Cross References

Rulau HT-98