Help appreciated in identifying a Hard Times Token

[RI AL]

RI Al here. Hope everyone is well. I am eagerly anticipating cataract surgery #2 on Monday and then soon after, being fitted with a pair of reading glasses. Then...I'll be able to see again and admire all the fantastic coin photos you guys are posting.

 

Anyway, I am trying to attribute a few Hard Times Tokens and have successfully squinted my way to identification of all but 1. Any help would be appreciated. I'm using Rulau "United States Tokens 1700-1900" and the "type" is on pages 93-95. The problem I'm having is:

 

The obverse top leaf in the hair clearly points to the L in Pluribus and Liberty's mouth is open (looks like HT 47). The reverse, the arrangement of the F and E in "For Tribute" doesn't match HT 47 but looks like 48 (though the book says 47 and 48 share the same reverse....they don't). I'm leaning towards HT 47, but in that picture, the point of the bust is rounded, and my example has it squared off. I'm confused (or am I trying too hard...or is it that I just can't see the gul-darned thing?) In any event, the coin is no rarity, but I have the label maker out and ready just awaiting for the opinions of you smart guys out there.

 

Many thanks!!

 

RI AL

 

 

 

[Just Bob]

Looks to me like you have it right - Obverse is HT47, and reverse is HT48!? You may have something new here.

 

You might want to email these pictures to Mr. Rulau at rviking@athenet.net, or he can be reached at

 

Russ Rulau

Krause Publications

700 E State St.

Iola, WI 54990

[awb]

It looks like the "Not" in "Not one cent for tribute" been scratched off. The token is political commentary itself, so I guess it's fair game for those who didn't agree with its message.

[RI AL]

awb.

 

Yea...I wondered about the "NOT" on the reverse too...whipped out the trusty microscope. I think the "o" is filled and the higher surfaces of the letters are not really scratched as it appears in the photo. Don't know if you have a Rulau book but HT 50 has a very similar looking "NOT".

 

RI AL

[RI AL]

Just Bob,

 

Gee...that's exciting...maybe a new variety. Ya know, I think I will just e-mail the photos to Mr. Rulau. It will be fun to see what he has to say.

 

Thanks for taking the time to help me out!!

 

RI AL

[PerryHall]

It looks like the "Not" in "Not one cent for tribute" been scratched off. The token is political commentary itself, so I guess it's fair game for those who didn't agree with its message.

 

Or someone was hoping to pass it as a one cent coin.

[TomB]

The images make the word "NOT" look to have most definitely been scratched away.

[BillJones]

The token is HT-48, (a.k.a. Low #33) HT 47 (a.k.a. Low #32) and 48 share a common obverse and different reverses. Here is a picture of HT-47. If you look at the placement of the leaf under "O" in "FOR" you will see that it is to the left of the letter on your token and under it on mine. As for the difference you see in the point of the bust, which might have something to do with a die state.

 

 

The political significance of the slogan, “Millions for defense, not one cent for tribute,” is a bit obscure for the hard times era. It originally appeared in 1799 when the French official, Talleyrand, solicited a bribe from U.S. diplomats. U.S. citizens were really angry at that and were rather foolishly ready to go to war with France over it. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed.

 

The slogan cropped up a gain in the early 1800s when the Barbary pirates were asking for bribes to stop attacking American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean. The U.S. responded by sending warships into the area and put a stop to that.

 

I wrestled for a long time to figure what the phrase met to Americans in 1837. At the time I was working a series of articles for the Early American Coppers club publication, Penny-Wise. I finally decided that it must have had something to do with a boarder dispute between the Maine and Canada that almost turned into a full shooting war. Once more the U.S. was refusing to pay off the Canadians to settle it.

 

As for the crossing out of the word “NOT,” that was done in an attempt to pass the piece as a regular U.S. large cent. The issuers put the “NOT” there to avoid counterfeiting charges. A person who got “stuck” with this piece or who had a dishonest intent, scratched it off the token.

 

[jgrinz]

Definitely looks like someone tried to pas Al's off as a real penny with the NOT attempting to be crossed out ...

 

 

[Just Bob]

HT 47 (a.k.a. Low #32) and 48 share a common obverse and different reverses.

 

If this is true, then either the pictures in my book are wrong, or I can't see.

 

I would definitely trust Bill Jones' knowledge over my eyes.

[BillJones]

I don't have all of the editions of Rulau's Hard Times book. I've sold off a number of the old editions as the new ones came out. He's done at least five or six of them. Some of the early editions, especailly the first edition had some mistakes. The veterans got on him about that, and he fixed the errors over time.

 

My attributions based on the 2001 edition of Rulau combined with the Edgar H. Adam's Plates of Lyman H. Low's Hard Times Tokens. This book, published by Quarterman 1980 is now a collectors' item in it's own right. It is a lithographic compilation of Edgar Adam's plates and the photos are far sharper than anything you will see in the Rulau books. Nothing against Rula. It's just that this photo book cost $35 back in 1980, and it was thought to be a bargain at that price then.