(1843) Token HT-379A, Cleveland, a. Loomis OH

Coin Details

Description

This 1843 copper A. Loomis token from Cleveland, Ohio is a variant in the grocer's extensive advertising token series. Like other Loomis issues, it promotes the wholesale and retail grocery business at 34 Merwin Street that sold provisions, fish, wines, and spirits to Cleveland's growing population. The multiple variants in copper, silver-plated copper, and other compositions demonstrate the Loomis business's investment in sustained token advertising. Cleveland in 1843 was recovering from the Hard Times economic downturn and entering a period of accelerating growth that would transform it from a small lake port into a major industrial city by mid-century. The completion of the Ohio & Erie Canal had connected Cleveland to the agricultural heartland, and the arrival of railroads in the late 1840s would further enhance the city's commercial importance. Loomis's continued token production through 1843 — several years after the peak of the Hard Times Token era — indicates both a successful business and continued confidence in the advertising value of circulating tokens. The tokens kept the Loomis name visible in Cleveland's daily commerce long after the immediate coin shortage had been resolved.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Cleveland OH variant. Rarity R-3.

Cross References

Rulau HT-379A