Owner Comments:
MA 1833 ATTLEBORO HT-153:
In the year 1828, Richard Robinson and William Henry Jones formed a business partnership in Attleboro, Massachusetts named Robertson, Jones & Company. The Robinson, Jones & Company manufactured metallic buttons, including buttons for the United States Military. In the fall of 1833, Robinson, Jones & Company received the prestigious American Institute medal for the “Best Military, Naval, Sporting, & Plain Flat Buttons.” Seizing on the opportunity to advertise their business, they had engraver Edward Hulseman prepare the dies for a Hard Times Token featuring as its reverse a copy of the medal. Edward Hulseman’s initial H appears in exergue underneath the main reverse device.
The American Institute in New York received their charter on May 2, 1829 for the “encouragement of agriculture, commerce, manufacturing, and the arts." From 1829 until at least 1897, they hosted annual fairs in New York City where the very latest innovations and inventions were on display before the public. They awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals in recognition of inventors, scientists, and agriculturalists.
The American Institute of New York medal has as its central device a seated image of Lady Liberty holding out a laurel wreath as if she were to crown a victor. In her left hand, she is holding a pole surmounted by a Phrygian cap representing freedom. Directly behind her is an eagle perched atop a Union Shield. The eagle is a revered bird in many cultures because it is majestic in flight and represents skill, strength, and bravery. The use of the eagle as a national symbol dates back to ancient times and was the emblem of the old Roman Republic. The Union Shield is representative of the United States.
All around Lady Liberty is imagery representing the products of the very things the American Institute was promoting as prescribed by their founding charter. There’s a caduceus representing commerce and a ship on the horizon representing trade. There’s a plow representing agriculture. A sheaf of wheat and a cornucopia full of produce signify an abundant harvest that is the result of innovations in agriculture. A spinning wheel indicates innovation and invention in machinery, which increases productivity in manufacturing.
While this token uses all types of imagery, there is one overriding message that incorporates all the imagery present on this token. The strong implication here is that where Liberty is present there is an abundance of innovation, invention, and entrepreneurialism resulting in prosperity.
In addition to the legend and date on this token’s obverse are small oak and palm branches. The oak branch is a symbol of strength and independence while the palm branch indicates victory and triumph.
The picture substituting for the reverse of this token is the cover of the “Official Index of the 65th American Institute Fair, Madison Square Garden, New York City, September 28 to October 29, 1896.”