Bidspirit auction | [USA Alternative Coin (Hard Times

[USA Alternative Coin (Hard Times Token)/Copper Coin Circa 1837] - [USA Alternative Coin (Hard Times Token)/Copper Coin Circa 1837]. The United States experienced a depression around 1837 that lasted until the 1840s, and a financial crisis occurred, leading to a severe economic recession. There was a shortage of coins at the time, and an alternative currency called Hard Times Token, a privately minted coin, was minted and circulated. It seems that the design has an ironic effect: the obverse is a shipwreck in 1837 (a metaphor for the Great Depression), and the reverse is a sailing ship in 1841 (hope for economic recovery).