(1841) Copper Token HT-23, Daniel Webster

Coin Details

Auction Record

$660 MS63BN 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

This 1841 copper Daniel Webster token is the final numbered entry in the main Webster portrait series. The 28.5mm diameter and copper composition place it in the same production family as HT-21 and HT-22, differing from those varieties in specific die characteristics. Together, the Webster series (HT-18 through HT-23, with composition variants) comprises one of the most extensive portrait groups in the Hard Times Token series. Webster's influence on American political numismatics extends beyond the Hard Times era. His image appeared on campaign tokens for the elections of 1836 and 1840 (though he never won the Whig presidential nomination), on commemorative medals, and on store cards issued by merchants who wished to associate their businesses with his prestige. The cumulative body of Webster-related numismatic material constitutes one of the richest resources for studying the visual culture of antebellum American politics. The end of the Hard Times Token era around 1844 coincided with economic recovery and the resumption of adequate supplies of official coinage, reducing the need for token substitutes. Webster continued his political career through the 1840s and into the 1850s, but the tokens bearing his image remain fixed in the specific historical moment of the Bank War and its aftermath — tangible relics of a political crisis that permanently reshaped American financial institutions.

Rarity Notes

Common. Standard copper version with good availability for collectors.

Cross References

Low 23; Rulau HT-23