(1837) Token HT-A219, New York NY

Coin Details

Description

This 1837 New York City token may be a variant of the Henry Anderson "Mammoth Boot & Shoe Store" issue at Chatham Square. The primary HT-219 features Anderson's large boot design—a visual signpost advertising his shoe store, where a giant boot sign would have hung outside the shop as was common practice for boot and shoe merchants of the era. Anderson's "Mammoth Boot" was a Chatham Square institution, part of the dense cluster of shoe stores that made this intersection New York's primary footwear retail district. The "A" prefix indicates this variant was cataloged after the original HT-219 entry, representing a different die state, metal, or edge type that distinguishes it from the primary issue. Boot and shoe merchants were among the most prolific issuers of Hard Times tokens in New York, as the shoe trade's heavy dependence on small retail transactions made the coin shortage particularly disruptive to their business. Advertising tokens that also served as cent substitutes addressed both marketing and monetary needs simultaneously.

Rarity Notes

Rare. Later-cataloged variant, Henry Anderson Mammoth Boot.

Cross References

Rulau HT-A219