(1837) Copper Token HT-334, Ezra B. Sweet NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$110 MS62BN 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1837 copper token from Ezra B. Sweet advertises his stove and kitchen furniture warehouse at No. 200 Canal Street in New York City. The obverse features a Coronet bust of Liberty similar to the contemporary large cent design. The reverse reads "EZRA B. SWEET NO. 200 CANAL STREET NEW YORK" with center text identifying his business: "STOVE & KITCHEN / FURNITURE / WAREHOUSE / TIN, COPPER AND / ZINC ROOFING." Sweet was a tinsmith by trade who operated a comprehensive household goods business selling stoves, kitchen furnishings, and roofing materials. Canal Street in the late 1830s was a major commercial thoroughfare connecting the Hudson and East Rivers across Lower Manhattan, named for the canal that had been built to drain the Collect Pond. The street's high foot traffic and central location made it an ideal site for a retail establishment selling household necessities. HT-334 is the small planchet variety at 27.5mm diameter, distinguishing it from the larger HT-335 at 28.5mm. The different planchet sizes suggest either that Sweet's die sinker used different planchet stock for separate production runs, or that the tokens were struck at different facilities using available copper blanks. Sweet's business continued at the Canal Street address through at least 1839, when he is recorded in city directories.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Small planchet variety. Rarity R-4.

Cross References

Low 140; Rulau HT-334