(1837) Copper Token HT-335, Ezra B. Sweet NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$480 MS63BN 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1837 copper Ezra B. Sweet token is the large planchet variety at 28.5mm diameter, distinguishing it from the smaller HT-334 at 27.5mm. Both varieties advertise Sweet's stove and kitchen furniture warehouse at No. 200 Canal Street, with the reverse identifying his business in tin, copper, and zinc roofing alongside the stove and kitchen furnishings trade. The stove business was one of the fastest-growing consumer goods industries of the 1830s. The transition from open-hearth cooking to enclosed cast iron stoves revolutionized domestic life in American cities, and stove dealers like Sweet served as the retail interface between foundry manufacturers and the households adopting this new technology. Canal Street's central location made it an ideal base for serving customers from across Manhattan and the surrounding communities. Sweet's secondary business in tin, copper, and zinc roofing reflects the construction boom that accompanied New York's rapid population growth during the 1830s. Metal roofing was replacing wooden shingles in urban construction as fire codes became more stringent following the Great Fire of 1835, which had demonstrated the catastrophic potential of wooden building materials in a densely built city. A merchant offering both kitchen goods and roofing materials served complementary markets within the building and homemaking trades.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Large planchet variety. Rarity R-2 to R-3.

Cross References

Low 149; Rulau HT-335