(1837) Copper Token HT-43, Liberty - Not One Cent

Coin Details

Auction Record

$4,800 XF40BN 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1837 copper Liberty / Not One Cent token is another variety in the extensive E PLURIBUS UNUM series. The 28mm diameter and copper composition confirm its role as a circulatory cent substitute, while the "MILLIONS FOR DEFENCE NOT ONE CENT FOR TRIBUTE" motto carries the Whig political message. The Not One Cent tokens circulated most heavily in the urban Northeast, particularly in New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston, where the coin shortage was most acute and where political awareness of the Bank War was highest. Rural areas, less dependent on small-denomination coins for daily transactions, saw less circulation of Hard Times Tokens. This urban concentration helps explain why most surviving examples show moderate to heavy wear from commercial use in the bustling markets and shops of antebellum American cities. Each die variety in the series tells a story about the token manufacturing process — from the initial cutting of the dies by skilled engravers, through the striking of tokens on a screw press, to their release into commerce through merchants and political distributors. The cumulative evidence of these die varieties provides one of the most detailed records of private coinage production in early American history.

Rarity Notes

Common. Well-represented in collections and the marketplace.

Cross References

Low 28; Rulau HT-43