United States · private exonumia

Hard Times token, c. 1835 — HT-181 / Low-300

Undated advertising token of John J. Adams, a brush manufacturer in Taunton, Massachusetts, with an office in Boston. It is dated circa 1835 by convention. The obverse carries a boar with “Cash for Bristles.” Copper HT-181 (Low-300). No serial and unslabbed.

Catalog facts

Year: c. 1835
Mint: Private striking; no federal mint or named engraver is assigned
Denomination: Advertising token (no face value on the piece)
Composition: Copper
Weight: 10.5 g (Numista type weight; this specimen was not weighed)
Diameter: 28.5 mm (type measurement; this specimen was not measured)
Edge: Plain on ordinary copper HT-181; the photographs do not show the edge
Condition: Unslabbed. Wear on the boar, a weakened central motto, and scattered marks. Not a numerical grade.
References: HT-181 · Low-300 · W-MA-320-10a · R-1 · Numista N#125438

Obverse: boar facing left; “Cash for Bristles”; Boston office, No. 12 Elm Street.

Reverse: John J. Adams, No. 11 Main Street, Taunton; brushes wholesale and retail.

The coin

This piece is a Hard Times store card, a trade token of John J. Adams, on the large-cent module. Neither face carries a face value or a date. The obverse, in Numista’s order, is the boar: it runs left above a ground line. The body reads “Cash for / Bristles.”; above, OFFICE / IN BOSTON; below, No. 12 / ELM ST. The upper arc reads ALL KINDS OF BRUSHES and the lower MADE TO ORDER. On this example the motto on the animal is worn; “Cash for Bristles” is the type legend. A toothed border on both faces. The reverse is text only: JOHN J. ADAMS No. 11 MAIN ST. and TAUNTON MASS. on the arc; in the center, MANUFACTURER / OF EVERY / DESCRIPTION OF / BRUSHES, / WHOLESALE / & RETAIL. This example is copper and is catalogued as HT-181. Brass is HT-181A and silver is HT-181B. No serial and no holder.

Legends

Obverse: ALL KINDS OF BRUSHES · MADE TO ORDER · OFFICE / IN BOSTON · “Cash for Bristles.” on the boar · No. 12 / ELM ST.
Reverse: JOHN J. ADAMS No. 11 MAIN ST. · TAUNTON MASS. · MANUFACTURER OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF BRUSHES, WHOLESALE & RETAIL.

History

Adams made brushes at No. 11 Main Street, Taunton, and kept an office at No. 12 Elm Street, Boston. The boar advertises the raw material: the legend offers cash for bristles, and the reverse sells the brushes wholesale, retail, and to order. Low numbered it 300, among the store cards; Rulau assigned HT-181; Bowers’s Guide Book, W-MA-320-10a. The date is not on the planchet. PCGS and the Fisher collection place the type in 1835 in parentheses, as copper of 28.5 mm. PCGS publishes no mintage or engraver. Numista N#125438 gives 10.5 g as a type weight. R-1 describes the copper variety, not a census of this example. A silvered piece is recorded outside Rulau’s list; it is not assigned here. No provenance is recorded on this page.

Scarcity and type

R-1 (copper HT-181): a type rarity, not a mintage. PCGS catalogues the metal as copper. Brass is HT-181A and silver is HT-181B, separate numbers. No prices or slab census are republished.

Certification

No holder and no numerical grade. The photographs show readable outer legends, wear on the boar, and scattered marks. They do not certify authenticity or prior cleaning. No serial.

Sources

PCGS CoinFacts — (1835) HT-181 John J. Adams (opens in a new tab)
Metal: copper. Reference diameter 28.5 mm. No published mintage or engraver. Prices are not republished.
PCGS CoinFacts — (1835) HT-181A (opens in a new tab)
Brass is HT-181A, a different number from copper HT-181. It is not assigned to this example.
Numista — N#125438, Hard Times Token, Taunton (opens in a new tab)
N#125438. Type weight 10.5 g. The obverse is the boar. Prices are not republished.
Alan S. Fisher — Hard Times Token Collection, HT-181 (opens in a new tab)
Copper, 28.5 mm, (1835), HT-181, Low-300, R-1, wild boar. It also notes a silvered piece unlisted by Rulau. Not this example; no price is republished.
Heritage — lot 60185-91189 (type comparable) (opens in a new tab)
Low-300, HT-181, W-MA-320-10a, R-1; copper, plain edge. The lot title says 28 mm. Not this holding; the hammer is not republished.