(1840) Copper Token HT-75, Holed Martin Van Buren

Coin Details

Auction Record

$312 PR55 05-23-2018 Heritage Auctions

Description

This 1840 copper token features Martin Van Buren and relates to the presidential election of 1840, one of the most colorful campaigns in American history. Van Buren, seeking reelection as the incumbent Democrat, faced a electorate deeply dissatisfied with the ongoing economic depression that had begun during his first year in office. The deliberately holed format of some HT-75 specimens indicates they were produced with a hole for wearing on a string or chain during campaign rallies and political gatherings. The 1840 election campaign represented a revolution in American political marketing. The Whigs adopted the log cabin and hard cider as symbols of their candidate William Henry Harrison, despite Harrison's actual aristocratic Virginia background, creating the first modern political brand. Campaign tokens, buttons, ribbons, and paraphernalia were produced in unprecedented quantities, making 1840 the first truly "merchandised" American election. Van Buren tokens from the 1840 campaign are less common than Harrison pieces, reflecting both the Democrats' disadvantage in the token-making industry (which was concentrated in Whig-leaning commercial centers) and Van Buren's diminished popularity with the voting public. The association between Van Buren and economic failure — crystallized in the nickname "Martin Van Ruin" — made him an unpopular subject for commercial token production.

Rarity Notes

Common. Holed copper variant produced for wearing during campaign activities.

Cross References

Low 192; Rulau HT-75; DeWitt MVB-1840-8