What is the definitive text for Hard times tokens?

coinlieutenant

What book did Conder do? Is it only Conder tokens?


P.s.
And if you have an extra PM me...

Pistareen

The Conder book is an outdated text on 18th century British merchant tokens. James Conder gave his name to the whole series, but the standard reference is a 20th century work by Dalton and Hamer.

Regarding Hard Times tokens, Lyman Low's 1899 work is still the standard text -- Low numbers are used by most specialists. Russ Rulau produced an "update" with a new numbering system using HT- numbers. The Rulau book has some improvements (pictures, prices) but many of the inclusions are speculative or unusual and some of the pricing is not perfect, as would be expected. I use both and recommend both. The Rulau work is cheap (under $15) or is included in his larger United States Tokens 1700-1900. Low is widely available in reprint form for about the same price.

If you are truly interested in the series, I'd recommend a copy of the June 2004 Stack's sale of John Ford's Hard Times token collection with prices realized. Several other texts would also be of use, such as copies of the B+M Steinberg/Logan sale (I wrote the Hard Times token section in 2002) or the Presidential Coin and Antique Co. catalogue of the Littman collection. I could mention 5 or 6 other catalogues dating back to Garrett as well.

It's a fun specialty -- good luck!

John K.