Hard Times Token: “Am I Not a Woman and a Sister?”

Hard Times tokens, like the one pictured, are remarkable for their representation of the economic crisis following the collapse of the Second Bank as well as the significance of political messaging through coinage. The complicated and chaotic nature of the post-Bank War economy made this era unlike any other. Due to the lack of coinage in circulation, Hard Times tokens were created by private minters in order to offset this lack of pocket change. While it was a necessity that needed to be fulfilled, it also allowed the spread of political, satirical, and otherwise non American messages to appear on everyday tokens. This particular coin depicts anti-slavery protest, which would not have been possible to put on federal money outside of this specific historical context. Political protest could be etched on one of the most powerful tools of power: money, making this era and these tokens unique.