(1860) Token Rulau MD-BaA36 White Metal Chas. W. Geekie

Coin Details

Description

This 1860 white metal token from Chas. W. Geekie of Baltimore is cataloged under the Rulau Maryland numbering system (MD-BaA36) rather than the primary HT sequence. The 1860 date places it well after the traditional Hard Times era, in the final year before the Civil War would create an entirely new episode of token production. Charles W. Geekie operated in Baltimore during the late antebellum period, and his white metal token documents commercial activity in Maryland's largest city on the eve of the sectional crisis. Baltimore's position as a border city—Southern in culture but Northern in economic orientation—made it a particularly complex and contested commercial environment in 1860. The Rulau MD-BaA36 catalog number reflects the systematic approach to cataloging tokens by state and city that Rulau applied to pieces falling outside the core Hard Times numbering. The white metal composition gives this token a silvery appearance appropriate for a late antebellum piece, when white metal had become an established material for tokens and commemorative medallions.

Rarity Notes

Rare. White metal. Late antebellum Baltimore token from 1860.

Cross References

Rulau MD-BaA36