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1834 Hard Times Token Running Boar HT-11 Low-10 W-10-230a R.2 Terminal Die Break TDS
Description:
Item Overview
Offered here is an extraordinary, historically significant 1834 Hard Times Token (HT-11 / Low-10 / W-10-230a), representing one of the most famous satirical political issues of the Jacksonian Bank War era.
Struck during the financial panic and fierce political clash between President Andrew Jackson and the Second Bank of the United States, this variety features the iconic \"Running Boar\" inscribed \"MY THIRD HEAT\" beneath \"MY VICTORY\" on the obverse, paired with Jackson emerging from a strongbox on the reverse.
While standard early-state specimens (such as the record-holding $2,040 Heritage plate coin) show merely a faint hairline near the snout, this piece represents a catastrophic Terminal Die State (TDS). The obverse steel die sheared completely in two under striking pressure, creating an immense, raised, rim-to-rim bisecting fault line across the entire face of the token.
Diagnostic & Variety Highlights
Attribution: HT-11 / Low-10 / W-10-230a (R-2 to R-3 Variety)
Key Diagnostic: The boar\'s snout points directly between the \"H\" in PERISH and the \"C\" in CREDIT (distinct from the common HT-9).
Obverse Inscriptions: Displays PERISH CREDIT. PERISH COMMERCE. around the upper periphery, MY VICTORY in the field above the boar, MY THIRD HEAT boldly stamped across the boar’s flank, and DOWN WITH THE / BANK / · 1834 · in the exergue.
Reverse Inscriptions: Satirical depiction of Jackson emerging from a locked strongbox holding a sword and money purse, surrounded by MY SUBSTITUTE FOR THE U.S. BANK / MY EXPERIMENT / MY CURRENCY / MY GLORY.
Dramatic Rim-to-Rim Bisecting Die Break:
Initiates at the upper rim directly above CREDIT (~10 o\'clock position).
Shears cleanly through the R and E, slices straight across the boar’s snout and eye, runs below MY THIRD HEAT, cuts through the groundline, transects the 4 in 1834, and exits at the opposing base rim (~5 o\'clock position).
Massive Metal Displacement: Struck at the very edge of total die destruction when the two broken die halves were actively separating. This forced planchet metal upward into a prominent, raised ridge with a visible shelf/ledge under raking light rather than a flat hairline.
Strike & Surfaces: Strong relief definition, well-preserved bristle details on the boar, crisp lettering, and a rich, natural, deeply aged chocolate-bronze patina. Please examine the unedited high-resolution macro photos to evaluate surfaces and grade for your own collecting standards.
Specifications
Year: 1834
Series: American Hard Times Tokens (1833–1844)
Variety: HT-11 / Low-10 / W-10-230a
Rarity: R-2 / R-3 (Substantially scarcer in this terminal die state)
Composition: Copper / Bronze
Condition: Raw (Terminal Die State / Rim-to-Rim Fracture — see photos)
Housing: Ships securely in a brand-new, archival-safe, non-PVC 2x2 flip.
A showpiece specimen for advanced exonumia specialists, early American copper variety collectors, or mint error enthusiasts seeking a museum-grade pre-Civil War die failure anomaly.
