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Hard Times Tokens - Post Your Images

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Hard Times

Hard Times

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very cool! I will put that info in my records! I knew it sold in the Stacks auction but had no idea about provenance - never a bad thing to have a Virgil Brand specimen! I bought it from Jim Hannigan at Fun last year. I assume he won it at the Stacks auction.

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BROADSTRUCK

BROADSTRUCK

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very cool! I will put that info in my records! I knew it sold in the Stacks auction but had no idea about provenance - never a bad thing to have a Virgil Brand specimen! I bought it from Jim Hannigan at Fun last year. I assume he won it at the Stacks auction.

 

It's actually Greg Hannigan and yes he did win it as he won about 20 lots in the sale. I actually purchased 4-5 items off him afterward as once I knew his bidder number it was more profitable for me to pay his nominal dealer mark-up then to bid against him at the live auction. As I noticed the second I bid and thought I had secured a lot more bids where placed and I lost the only lot I had my heart set on right out of the gate bidding beyond the moon right towards uranus.

 

I don't like to pay for pedigrees and have a lot of fun tracing the prior provenance of these tokens. I've spent the last few years building a huge library of every major HTT sale via old auction catalogs dating back to the early 1950's. I most likely could have bought another 3-5 gem HTT's, but having access of any auction that had more the 20 HTT lots at my fingertips has been more valuable and enjoyable to me at times then the tokens themselves.

 

I just finally after 3 tries in the last 2 years secured the Sara Hinckley collection sale catalog. I normally read the bio first of any prior collector and Sara's was a neat read as she was finishing a collection she inherited from her uncle in the 1970's. She was an active buyer at every HTT sale in the last 2 decades and finally offered her collection at auction at the ripe young age of 92.

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BROADSTRUCK

BROADSTRUCK

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1836 R & W Robinson - Attleboro, Massachusetts HT-155 / Low 104

 

This was another token that was just neat to trace to the turn of the century! Ex. Dice/Hicks, Litman, Griner/Rudduck, Oechsner, Miller, Dupont, Tilden collections, and Edgar Adams 1914 plates of Lyman Low's Hard Times Tokens.

 

30ddk0g.jpg

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Hard Times

Hard Times

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As usual, a spectacular example! My favorite from that auction was 7017, HT-15, Glorious Whig Victory, which was huge in cost and the consignor put a reserve on it that was not met.

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BROADSTRUCK

BROADSTRUCK

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I won't be posting for a week so I will post my newest acquisition now. I think I like it, alot......

 

HT, Nice images as it looks great! :applause:

 

I think you'll like this for a long time and I'm so glad you bought it...

 

As I suffer from dulicateitus and that's one I no longer need to ponder about! ;):P

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BillJones

BillJones

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Wow!

 

You guys have some really wonderful high grade Hard Times tokens. (thumbs u I buy more for the history and the rarity so my pieces are not nearly as nice. Still I could not resist this one when I saw it at a show a few years ago. Since I'm not a fan of red copper, this piece suits me fine.

 

HT20O.jpgHT20R.jpg

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Funny strip in these Hard Times!

 

Will do, got to get to the 'puter where my pics are the load 'em into photobucket then here. Stunning new pics of HTT's from you Mr. BS :golfclap: as usual.

 

BTW, do you have a Broadstruck HTT? lol

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BROADSTRUCK

BROADSTRUCK

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BTW, do you have a Broadstruck HTT? lol

 

HT, No as I'll explain...

 

A few years ago I had a chance to buy either or both of the 2 top pop HTT's of a variety. I liked both, but one had a planchet clip that as a mint error collector was neat-o. I spoke with Julian Liedman about my dilemma and he answered my question with a question... "Are you collecting Tokens -or- Mint Errors?" This has become gospel and if I know a token is available with out a minting issue flaw... I'll hold off until I find it. So you can thank Julian as otherwise your HT-8 / Low-5A would have been in my collection... Not yours! ;):P

 

Now I did just see another HT-8 / Low-5A in AU58 at the Baltimore show that was described as wonderfully toned as it was handed to me. It was perfectly centered, yet the toning looked more like excessive heat or fire damage as who knows it might have slipped under a wood burning stove for a few decades until found?

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Here is my HT-73. NGC has one graded higher at 65 BN, 5 at this grade, none in RB in ≥63. This one is nice with some original red poking through, abit weak in strike for the eagles head and neck is obvious. It lacks a flashing cartwheel under the light, just a subtle one. I did see one that flashed and was a strong strike at an EAC convention a few years back so there are some out there without the subdued luster, and the example Broadstruck presented earlier in the thread is sure to flash and have that strong strike - was this example I saw at EAC? This one shown below went through Heritage in another NGC holder but as an MS64 also in 2007 and went for $1495. I bought much later for far far less coin. Just goes to show that sometimes in auctions irrational exuberance takes over.......

 

From Heritage: "1837 Half Cent of Copper Token, MS64 Brown NGC. Low-49, HT-73, R.2. Dies by E. Hulseman. Subtle sea-green and brown coloration with glimpses of mint red within the protected areas of both the obverse and reverse. Suitably struck and without noticeable marks. These pieces were privately struck around 1837 to address the shortage of small change in circulation."

 

HT-73hcNGCMS64blkcomp.jpg

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BillJones

BillJones

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Now I did just see another HT-8 / Low-5A in AU58 at the Baltimore show that was described as wonderfully toned as it was handed to me. It was perfectly centered, yet the toning looked more like excessive heat or fire damage as who knows it might have slipped under a wood burning stove for a few decades until found?

 

I wonder if that was the same piece that appeared in Steve Hayden's most recent auction. I was attracted to it because I don't have one (I have two examples of the other similar variety), but the toning discouraged me from bidding.

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BROADSTRUCK

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I wonder if that was the same piece that appeared in Steve Hayden's most recent auction. I was attracted to it because I don't have one (I have two examples of the other similar variety), but the toning discouraged me from bidding.

 

It was the same and in hand it looked very unhealthy in the centers and especially the periphery as the reverse wasn't toned but heavily charred and encrusted. I would have bought it on the spot at Baltimore, but it wasn't something I'd want even as a filler.

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rons

rons

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I have a modest small collection of tokens but no background info or number plus they are raw so i enjoy looking at and reading about the different tokens presented. I also look at mine and compare to get a sense of possible grade should I ever decide to entomb them. Its fun and its historical, no, not hysterical. :) However I wouldn't post mine as most are lower grade and probably not as photogenic. Keep posting them here as they are a treat as well as educational. :cool:

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Hard Times

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I have a modest small collection of tokens but no background info or number plus they are raw so i enjoy looking at and reading about the different tokens presented. I also look at mine and compare to get a sense of possible grade should I ever decide to entomb them. Its fun and its historical, no, not hysterical. :) However I wouldn't post mine as most are lower grade and probably not as photogenic. Keep posting them here as they are a treat as well as educational. :cool:

 

Every token/coin is photogenic and interesting - post your pics!

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