In numismatics some coins, tokens, medals, and paper money issues are popular for one generation and generally ignored by another. These situations, of which there are many, are interesting to contemplate.
In the year 1906 many more people collected encased postage stamps than collected Morgan silver dollars by date and mintmark. Today in 2016, or 110 years later, hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts seek Morgan silver dollars from the Carson City, New Orleans, and San Francisco mints, but the number of specialists seeking encased postage stamps aggressively is probably no more than a few dozen.
Conversely, in 1988 Gem Mint State silver commemorative coins 1892 to 1954, consisting of 142 different dates and mintmarks of half dollars plus the 1893 Isabella quarter and 1900 Lafayette dollar were hot as firecrackers. Today in 2016 they are in much lower demand, and many MS-65 coins can be purchased for a third or less of the price they brought then.
I have enjoyed writing about such trends and have on many occasions. If you do not have a copy of my The Enthusiast’s Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins, you can find one on the Whitman Publishing LLC website or, if you are a member of the American Numismatic Association you can borrow one for free, plus postage, from the ANA Library. In terms of letters received from readers this is one of the most useful books I have ever written.
There are some series that are evergreen in popularity. In over 60 years of being a key factor in the rare coin market plus studying numismatic history back to the 18th century (William Bentley, D.D. is the earliest systematic collector of American coins I have located; he obtained Vermont, Connecticut, and other coins as they were issued in the 1780s), I have identified quite a few specialties that have been everlastingly popular. One is copper cents 1793 to 1857. There has never been a time in which a lovely Fine or Very Fine (or whatever grade) 1793 cent has failed to attract enthusiasm. The same thing can be said for colonial and related coins. Such coins as the 1652 Pine Tree shilling have always been in strong demand. The same is true for colonial currency. Ditto for Civil War tokens (the first specialized articles in the first several issues of the American Journal of Numismatics, which made its debut in May 1866, were on Civil War tokens).
Beck’s Public Baths
The same thing can be said for Hard Times tokens, generally classified as cent-size tokens issued from 1832 to 1844. These were popular in the 1850s, and some were first listed in a book in 1858 (by Charles I. Bushnell).
In the late 1850s, when numismatics was just beginning to become widely popular in America, J. Ledyard Hodge, a Philadelphia collector, often acted as a scout for friends at a distance. The letter give below was to Alonzo Brock, a Richmond, Virginia collector:
No. 611 Walnut St.
Dec. 1st, 1859
R. Alonzo Brock, Esq.
Dear Sir,
I have delayed acknowledging your last two favors—expecting every day to do so—and be able to send with my answer a larger set of pieces than I do—However as they turn up rather slowly I have concluded to send what I have and forward by Adams Express of this day a package containing sixteen pieces, which I find cost altogether exactly $2. One of these is one of the Washington medalets you wanted, which I was unable to procure till the other day; the others are American tokens of various kinds.
I send also a memorandum made by myself of a sale of a small collection of coins here some two or three weeks ago, which will serve somewhat as a guide for you. We are all now in an excitement about a sale of a very fine collection to take place here the 20th of this month. It is remarkable more for the quality and variety of the pieces than their number, and is probably the best collection offered for sale for a long time. I will send you a catalogue next week when they come out, and if you desire to purchase any will be glad to bid for you at such prices as you may fix. After the sale a few priced catalogues will be issued at I believe 50 cts. each. If you wish one please inform me.
I enclose also one of the circulars issued by our Committee asking for information regarding our proposed works. We intend getting up the volume on store cards, tokens etc., first leaving the one on medals till afterwards. If you have any pieces not mentioned in the Bushnell work, we would like to have rubbings and descriptions. Probably before answering, you had better wait for the catalogue of this coming sale which will contain over 400 varieties of store cards, many of them not in Bushnell, and the owner has allowed us to take descriptions of all not in our own collections, so we will want no descriptions of any piece in that catalogue.
As regards the privilege of corresponding members of our Society, they are I believe mentioned in the Constitution etc., which you have, and are the right to attend meetings when in town, privilege of the room, etc. I would be glad to propose your name if you desire it.
Can you procure any more of the card you sent me “Beck’s Public Baths”? I will take any you can get with pleasure, as I have three or four friends here who want them.
Yours very truly,
J. Ledyard Hodge
The reference is to one of the most famous and most desired Hard Times tokens—the copper issued by Beck’s Public Baths. In my Guide Book of Hard Times Tokens (Whitman, 2014, now in its second large printing), I listed this as variety W-VA-040. It is also listed as Low-275 and by Russell Rulau in the Standard Catalog of U.S. Tokens 1700-1900 as HTT-441. I estimate the number known as in the 100 range, most of which show some wear. Very Fine and Extremely Fine are typical grades. The finest known is illustrated, the beautiful Mint State coin with most original red color, that I purchased as Lot 3285 in the Dice-Hicks Collection sale, July 2008, for $16,100. The price might seem to be a bit unusual, but if it were a 1794 copper cent of comparable rarity and grade, it would likely sell for 10 times the price!
I hasten to say that most Hard Times tokens sell for much less, and beautiful Mint State examples of many varieties can be purchased for a few hundred dollars or less. Some of these are among the most interesting, such as the anti-Jackson tokens of 1837 featuring a jackass and other punny motifs.
Back to Beck’s:
In the period from about 1832 to 1844, when Charles Beck distributed his Beck’s Public Baths tokens in Richmond, Virginia, bathing was an occasional experience at best. Houses did not have indoor plumbing, and for most people in the city the closest thing to a bath was wiping with a soapy wet cloth. Across the country, some academies and boarding schools made it an offense to bathe in the colder months, the practice being deemed unhealthy.
For those who desired to bathe, public baths were operated in most of the larger cities. If you read the history of the (inexpensive) Hard Times tokens issued by W.A. Handy of Providence, Rhode Island, you will learn that City Baths in 1834 occupied the premises earlier used by Handy for his tailoring and clothing business.
Records show that in 1832, Charles Beck was a confectioner and the operator of a bathing facility. The baths were in operation until at least 1844. These tokens, about the size of a quarter dollar, may have circulated locally as currency, or, more likely, they were used as admission checks. The dies are by James Bale or Bale & Smith of New York City.
With its somewhat risqué depiction of a nude woman, this token is a favorite today, just as it was with collectors of the mid-19th century when J. Ledyard Hodge sought to obtain some for his collector friends in Philadelphia.
If you would like to learn more about tokens in general, also buy or borrow a copy of The 100 Greatest Medals and Tokens, an award-winning book that Kathryn Jaeger and I did for Whitman a few years ago and which is still in print. Also check the Token and Medal Society’s website. I was among the founders of this great group more than 50 years ago.
