(1837) Token HT-B218, Lyons on 1789 2 Reales NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,293 MS61 10-08-2014 Heritage Auctions

Description

This 1837 token bears a counterstamp by R. Lyons applied to a Spanish colonial 2 Reales coin dated 1789. The New York attribution connects this piece to a merchant whose business operated in Manhattan during the Hard Times, though the specific nature of R. Lyons' business has not been documented in publicly available references. The choice of a 1789 Spanish 2 Reales as the host coin—minted in the year of George Washington's inauguration and the beginning of the new American government—adds historical resonance to what is primarily a commercial advertising piece. By the 1830s, this nearly fifty-year-old coin had circulated through Spanish colonial, Caribbean, and American commerce before receiving Lyons' counterstamp in New York. The "B" prefix in the Rulau numbering system indicates this was a later addition to the catalog, discovered after the primary HT-218 entry was established. Counterstamp varieties are among the most challenging Hard Times tokens to catalog comprehensively, as each different host coin creates a distinct variety that may surface in collections decades after the initial cataloging effort.

Rarity Notes

Rare. R. Lyons counterstamp on 1789 Spanish 2 Reales.

Cross References

Rulau HT-B218