1793 Thomas Paine Hanging Token End of Pain
We have a nice token here that measures 28mm. This one has nice brown color. It has milled edge (see photo). Most of what I see have plain edge, so this piece must be a lotscarcer. Middlesex-833.
Thomas Paine was one of the key fellows during the American Revolution, but no medal was ever struck with his image. The only numismatic material that is available with his image are these hanging tokens; that is it. These political tokens are highly desirable and very difficult to find. I always keep a number of these cause I like them, and I have them because I pay very competitive prices to secure them. Real historical stuff!
On the obverse is a depiction of Thomas Paine hanging from the gallows with the legend “END OF PAIN.” The reverse shows an open book inscribed, “THE WRONGS OF MAN / JANy 21 1793.” Obviously, the book title is a play on words for Paine’s popular “The Rights of Man.” The date is a reminder of the execution of Louis XVI, who “lost” his head that day. The designer of this token wished the same for Paine.
We note anti-Paine and pro-Paine tokens were very popular here in the U.S. in the 1790s. John Adams and Alexander Hamilton used to carry anti-Paine tokens (hanging tokens) as pocket pieces. On the other hand, Thomas Jefferson and George Clinton carried pro-Paine tokens.
I visited Smithsonian, NPG, recently and took this photo of Thomas Paine. This is a small painting, smaller than copy paper. No, you don\'t get this painting with the token; it is not a part of this sale.
SALES TAX: For shipment withinNew York State, 8% sales tax will be added to invoice, unless the buyer has a resale certificate with filled-in ST-120 form. We would need to have a jpg image of it sent by email. Thereare no exceptions.
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