(1835) Token NY HT-353 Copper Bucklin's Interest Tables NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$115 XF40BN 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1835 copper Bucklin's Interest Tables token is a further die variety in the extensive series advertising Isaac Bucklin's mathematical reference work. The consistent production of new varieties indicates either high demand that wore out dies quickly, or a deliberate strategy of creating multiple versions to maintain collector interest — though organized numismatic collecting of Hard Times Tokens was still decades in the future. Troy's position as a manufacturing and commercial hub generated the type of business activity that created demand for Bucklin's products. Iron foundries, textile mills, collar factories, and wholesale merchants all required regular interest computations for their credit transactions. A reference book that simplified these calculations from multi-step arithmetic to simple table lookups provided measurable time savings for businesses processing dozens of credit transactions daily. The Bucklin tokens document an entrepreneurial response to a genuine market need — a pattern that characterizes the best of the Hard Times Token merchant issues. While many merchant tokens simply advertised a shop's name and location, the Bucklin pieces promoted a specific, useful product that enhanced the tokens' value as advertising media.

Rarity Notes

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

Cross References

Rulau HT-353