(1837) Copper Token HT-219, Henry Anderson NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$432 MS63RB 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1837 copper token from Henry Anderson's boot and shoe establishment features one of the most visually distinctive designs in the merchant Hard Times Token series: a large boot — the "Mammoth Boot" that served as the shop's oversized trade sign — prominently displayed on the obverse. The practice of hanging enormous three-dimensional trade signs outside shops was common in antebellum American cities, where many potential customers were illiterate and relied on pictorial signs to identify businesses. Anderson's shop was located at Chatham Square in Lower Manhattan, a busy intersection that served as a gateway between the Bowery entertainment district and the Five Points neighborhood. The concentration of foot traffic at Chatham Square made it an ideal location for a boot and shoe retailer, and the Mammoth Boot sign would have been visible to pedestrians approaching from multiple directions. The boot as a token design exemplifies the straightforward advertising approach of merchant Hard Times Tokens. Unlike the politically sophisticated designs of the satirical series, merchant tokens generally conveyed simple commercial messages: who made the token, where they were located, and what they sold. Anderson's Mammoth Boot communicated all three elements in a single, memorable image that served as effective advertising every time the token changed hands.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. The distinctive Mammoth Boot design makes this a popular collector piece. Rarity R-2.

Cross References

Low 73; Rulau HT-219