This Hard Times token was used for commerce in times of financial crisis in the US. They are the size of a large cent and often featured political and satirical messaging.
I love this token. Just look at it. There's a donkey running around! There's a turtle involved! He's carrying a box!
Clean surfaces and a great strike with minimal wear. Very appealing.
I'll let this description I found in a 2019 Stacks-Bowers auction for a similar piece explain what it all means:
Martin Van Buren won the election of November 1836 and on March 4, 1837, was inaugurated as president of the United States. He declared, "I follow in the steps of my illustrious predecessor," launching a series of Hard Times tokens satirizing him. The jackass represented Jackson on this and other varieties. In a message to Congress on September 5, 1837, President Martin Van Buren proposed establishing Sub-Treasury offices in cities to receive and hold federal funds then in pet banks. By that time paper money in circulation included many bills that were completely worthless, some issued by fictitious banks. While Sub-Treasuries would not replace the defunct Bank of the United States, it was thought that they would help restore public confidence.
The Sub-Treasury Bill was introduced in the Senate in October, made its way through two different sessions of Congress, and became law in June 1839 as the Independent Treasury Act. Sub-Treasury branches were proposed for New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Charleston, and Washington. Certain provisions of the bill were repealed in 1841. The slow movement of funds from pet banks to Sub-Treasury offices was lampooned by a diamondback terrapin carrying a safe.
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