Paul M. writes: Can you tell me history of the 1837 half cent token. Was it used as legal tender? Was it commisioned by private businesses? I have one that looks to good to be true – are forgeries common?
I imagine that you have the 1/2 cent token that says Standard Weight and Half Cent Worth of Pure Copper. These tokens are part of the series of tokens that were created by private sources to supply small change during the severe coin shortages between 1833-42. These “Hard Times” tokens were a fond memory twenty years later and many restrikes, usually as proofs, were made during this period to satisfy the collector demand for examples of these historic pieces.
Most of the tokens were 1 cent size and the 1/2 cent pieces are relatively rare. Values from $25 to $1,000. See: “Hard Times” tokens
