1852 Token TC-557646 Brass Metropolitan Ins. Co.

Coin Details

Description

This 1852 brass token, cataloged as TC-557646, was issued by the Metropolitan Insurance Company, one of the numerous insurance firms that proliferated in mid-nineteenth-century New York as urbanization and industrialization created demand for property, fire, and life insurance. Insurance companies were among the most prolific issuers of advertising tokens during this period, using small metal pieces as business cards and promotional items distributed to current and prospective clients. The 1852 date places this token in the period of rapid financial sector growth preceding the Panic of 1857. Metropolitan Insurance Company tokens document the expansion of the American insurance industry and the commercial culture of antebellum New York, when businesses of all types used tokens as a practical and durable form of advertising.

Rarity Notes

Brass, TC-557646. Insurance company advertising token. 1850s New York commercial piece.

Cross References

PCGS #965209; TC-557646; Metropolitan Insurance Co., Brass