Andrew Jackson and the Political Hard Times Tokens

What Are the Political Hard Times Tokens?

Political Hard Times tokens are privately made copper tokens, roughly the size of the contemporary U.S. large cent (about 28 to 29mm), that carried political messages during the Hard Times era of the 1830s and early 1840s. Unlike merchant store cards, which advertise a business by name, the political types carry no merchant name and exist to satirize or defend the leading figures of the day.

They circulated by public acceptance at one cent and were never legal tender. Their purpose was as much commentary as commerce: they filled a shortage of small change while broadcasting sharp opinions about Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and the national bank. For the full picture of the series, see the Hard Times tokens pillar guide.

The Bank War and the Panic of 1837

The political tokens grew directly out of the Bank War, the fight between Jackson and the Second Bank of the United States. In July 1832 Jackson vetoed the bill to recharter the Bank, and in 1833 he ordered federal deposits removed and placed in selected state banks that critics nicknamed pet banks.

In 1836 the Treasury issued the Specie Circular, requiring gold or silver for the purchase of most public land. That policy, layered on top of speculation and credit strain, helped trigger the Panic of 1837 shortly after Van Buren took office. Banks suspended specie payments, hard coin was hoarded, and small change vanished from circulation. Button and medal makers responded by striking cent-sized tokens that carried both a value and a verdict. For a neutral overview of the era from Jackson's home, see The Hermitage.

I Take the Responsibility and Its Jackass Reverse

The single most recognized political design shows Jackson rising from an open strongbox or trunk, clutching a sword in one hand and a money bag in the other, encircled by the legend I TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY. The image mocks his removal of the federal deposits and the fear that one office might control both the army and the nation's money.

The phrase quotes Jackson's own defense of that decision. The reverse commonly pairs it with a jackass, or donkey, and legends such as THE CONSTITUTION AS I UNDERSTAND IT and ROMAN FIRMNESS with the word VETO. Read together, obverse and reverse turn Jackson's confidence into ridicule, casting him as a stubborn figure acting on personal will. For help reading these legends, see the guide to Hard Times token designs and slogans.

The Running Jackass and the Sub Treasury Tortoise

Two animal designs extended the satire to Van Buren's presidency. A running jackass ridicules the Jackson and Van Buren wing of the Democratic Party, using the donkey as a symbol of the administration long before it became a settled party emblem.

A separate design shows a tortoise carrying a strongbox marked SUB TREASURY, with legends in the family of EXECUTIVE EXPERIMENT and FISCAL AGENT. The tortoise mocks Van Buren's Independent Treasury plan, which would keep government funds out of banks, portraying it as painfully slow. Together the jackass and the tortoise frame the administration as both stubborn and sluggish.

Ship Tokens: Credit Versus Metallic Currency

The ship designs stage the central economic argument of the era in miniature. A full-sailed ship under the legend WEBSTER CREDIT CURRENT represents the pro-credit, Whig position associated with Senator Daniel Webster, showing commerce moving smoothly under a working credit system.

It is contrasted with a foundering or sinking ship labeled VAN BUREN METALLIC CURRENCY, which mocks the hard-money position of the Loco Foco faction that favored gold and silver over paper. A related CONSTITUTION ship design also appears in the series. The paired ships let a token argue an entire monetary philosophy on two sides of a coin.

The Phoenix, Not One Cent, and Millions for Defence

Several designs mark the financial collapse and the legal games around it. A phoenix rising from flames appears with the legend SPECIE PAYMENTS SUSPENDED and the date MAY TENTH 1837, recording the day New York banks stopped redeeming paper in coin, an event that defined the panic.

Many other pieces closely imitate the large cent's Liberty head but substitute the wording NOT ONE CENT for the federal ONE CENT. The added NOT gave makers legal cover against laws on copying official coinage while still passing at a penny. The patriotic slogan MILLIONS FOR DEFENCE NOT ONE CENT FOR TRIBUTE, borrowed from an earlier diplomatic crisis, was pressed into the same wordplay. These Liberty-imitation cents are among the most encountered political types today.

Famous Political Designs at a Glance

The table below summarizes the best-known political designs, the meaning behind each, and a hedged sense of how common they are. Values assume a genuine, collectible piece and can move widely with grade, color, and eye appeal. For deeper pricing, see the Hard Times tokens value guide.

What Are Political Hard Times Tokens Worth?

Most common political Hard Times tokens sell in the tens to low hundreds of dollars in collectible grades, while scarce designs and standout examples climb higher. As with all copper, condition and color drive price: an even brown circulated piece is worth far less than a sharp example with original red-brown or red surfaces.

As a rough guide, common political types in Fine to Very Fine often run about $20 to $60, and nicer About Uncirculated to Uncirculated common types about $75 to $250. Scarcer satires reach into the hundreds, and the rarest and most famous pieces, including abolitionist tokens, can bring thousands. The catalog systems by Lyman H. Low (Low numbers) and Russell Rulau (HT numbers) let you pin down a specific variety before you judge value. For an appraisal, use a numismatic appraiser or a nearby coin shop.

Why Collectors Call These the Original Protest Coins

Collectors treat the political Hard Times tokens as America's first mass protest coinage because ordinary people carried sharp political opinions in their pockets and spent them as money. The designs are cartoons in copper, arguing over banks, credit, and executive power at the moment those questions gripped the country.

That mix of history and satire keeps demand steady. If you enjoy tokens that comment on their times, the idea returned a generation later in the Civil War tokens guide, and you can explore related pieces through the medals and tokens directory or the roundup of the most valuable Hard Times tokens. For broader context, the Wikipedia entry on the Hard times token and the American Numismatic Association are good starting points.