(1836) Token HT-188, St. Louis MO

Coin Details

Description

This St. Louis token from 1836 is sequentially numbered after the Huckel, Burrows & Jennings pieces (HT-187 series), indicating it may represent a closely related issue— a different die combination from the same firm, or a companion piece intended for a different commercial purpose. The shared date and location strongly link this token to the Huckel, Burrows & Jennings operation on Main Street. St. Louis in 1836 was America's westernmost major city, a jumping-off point for the Oregon Trail, the Santa Fe trade, and the Missouri River fur trade. The city's population had grown rapidly from about 5,000 in 1830 to nearly 16,000 by 1840, driven by immigration and the expansion of steamboat commerce. This growth created opportunities for merchants who could supply the needs of settlers, traders, and the city's emerging middle class. The extreme rarity of St. Louis Hard Times tokens—there are no other merchant issues from the city in the entire series—reflects the relative isolation of the western frontier from the eastern token-manufacturing centers. Eastern merchants could easily commission tokens from die-cutters in New York or Waterbury, Connecticut, but St. Louis merchants had to arrange production from a distance of over a thousand miles, making token issuance a more deliberate and costly undertaking.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. St. Louis token, closely related to the Huckel, Burrows & Jennings series.

Cross References

Rulau HT-188