(1836) Token HT-187, St. Louis MO

Coin Details

Auction Record

$10,800 AU Details 08-11-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

This brass token from Huckel, Burrows & Jennings of St. Louis is the only merchant token from that city in the entire Hard Times series, making it uniquely desirable among collectors seeking geographic completeness. The obverse reads "Huckel Burrows & Jennings Dealers in Groceries Choice Wines & C & C. 1836," while the reverse identifies their location on Main Street and secondary business as "Boat Stores and Ship Chandlery." The firm served a dual market: retail grocery and wine sales to St. Louis residents, and provisioning of the steamboats and keelboats that navigated the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. St. Louis in 1836 was the commercial gateway to the American West, where the fur trade, lead mining, and agricultural settlement of the Missouri and Illinois territories all converged. Main Street ran along the riverfront where steamboats loaded and unloaded passengers and cargo. Only approximately four specimens are known, making this among the rarest city-attributed Hard Times tokens. One example is permanently held by the American Numismatic Society. The token's provenance includes some of the most distinguished American numismatic collections: F.C.C. Boyd, Horace Louis Philip Brand, and the John J. Ford Collection (Stack's, 2004, $60,375) and later the Dice-Hicks Collection ($80,500).

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. Rarity R-7+. Approximately 4 known. The only St. Louis merchant HT token. Realized $80,500 at auction.

Cross References

Rulau HT-187, Low-102