(1840) Brass Token HT-205, Bergen Iron Works

Coin Details

Auction Record

$780 MS65 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1840 brass token from the Bergen Iron Works in Lakewood, New Jersey is a company store piece issued by one of the Pine Barrens' bog iron smelting operations. The Bergen Iron Works utilized the region's distinctive bog iron ore — iron-rich deposits formed in the acidic waters of Pine Barrens bogs and streams — to produce pig iron for casting and forging. Company store tokens like this one functioned as scrip, redeemable for goods at the company-operated store that served workers in the isolated furnace community. Bog iron smelting was a significant New Jersey industry from the colonial period through the mid-nineteenth century. The Pine Barrens provided both the ore and the charcoal fuel (from the region's extensive pine forests) needed for iron production. Furnace operations like Bergen Iron Works were largely self-contained communities — workers lived in company housing, purchased goods from the company store, and were often paid partly in company scrip rather than cash. The Bergen Iron Works tokens exist in multiple varieties (HT-205 through HT-206), reflecting the ongoing need for company store currency in an operation that was cash-poor but resource-rich. The brass composition distinguishes this variety from the copper issues.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Company store token. Rarity R-3.

Cross References

Rulau HT-205