Posted 06/21/2015 09:01 am
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Like Conder tokens in Britain, Hard Times tokens were privately minted in the US to make up for a shortfall of small change. The most entertaining of them had motifs of political satire against President Andrew Jackson, whose economic policies against a central bank were felt to have caused the crisis known as the "Hard Times."
The Low-51 token is from about 1834. The obverse shows Jackson in military regalia, rising out of a strongbox, with cutlass and moneybag in hand: I TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY.
The reverse portrait is not a horse, but also Jackson, as a donkey, with LL.D. on its side, for the honorary degree recently awarded to Jackson by Harvard. THE CONSTITUTION AS I UNDERSTAND IT.
Like Conder tokens in Britain, Hard Times tokens were privately minted in the US to make up for a shortfall of small change. The most entertaining of them had motifs of political satire against President Andrew Jackson, whose economic policies against a central bank were felt to have caused the crisis known as the "Hard Times."
The Low-51 token is from about 1834. The obverse shows Jackson in military regalia, rising out of a strongbox, with cutlass and moneybag in hand: I TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY.
The reverse portrait is not a horse, but also Jackson, as a donkey, with LL.D. on its side, for the honorary degree recently awarded to Jackson by Harvard. THE CONSTITUTION AS I UNDERSTAND IT.
Edited by philadelphian
06/21/2015 10:20 am
06/21/2015 10:20 am
