(1840-44) Token HT-B417, Philadelphia PA

Coin Details

Description

This Philadelphia token from 1840–44 is connected to Smith & Brothers, hardware importers and dealers at 188 Market Street. The "B" prefix indicates a later-cataloged variant of the primary HT-417 issue. Smith & Brothers competed with the cluster of hardware merchants that made Philadelphia's Market Street one of the most important commercial corridors in the American hardware trade. The 1840–44 dating places this variant at the end of the Hard Times period, when Philadelphia's economy was gradually recovering from the worst effects of the Panic of 1837. Hardware importers who survived the crisis emerged with strengthened market positions as weaker competitors failed, and the resumption of construction and manufacturing activity restored demand for their products. Smith & Brothers' token, like those of their Market Street competitors Watson, Harvey, and Buehler's & Smith, features an anvil design that immediately communicated the nature of the business to anyone who handled the piece. The anvil was the universal symbol of the hardware and metalworking trades, as recognizable in the 1830s as a corporate logo would be today.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Smith & Brothers hardware, 188 Market Street. Later-cataloged variant.

Cross References

Rulau HT-B417