LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 Feb Americana Grand Format Auction #659  / 

25274

1820 Charleston SERVANT Slave Hire Badge #319

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Cultures & Ethnicities Start Price:450.00 USD Estimated At:1,800.00 - 2,400.00 USD
1820 Charleston SERVANT Slave Hire Badge #319
<B>1820 Charleston SERVANT Slave Hire Badge. Number 319.</B></I> A flat square-shaped tag (as they were in even-numbered years during this period) with clipped corners, a hole for suspension, 50mm x 54mm. "LAFAR" hallmark punched on the reverse beneath the hole indicating manufacture by Charleston silversmith John Joseph LaFar. The elements on the front are as follows (top to bottom): "*CHARLESTON*" in a crescent-shaped bar punch; "SERVANT" in a rectangular punch; "No" in a square punch followed by an incuse "319" in individual punches (punched through the metal in two tiny instances); and "1820" bar punched. The condition is extremely fine with a dark even patina and particularly bold elements- excellent for display. <BR><BR>The authors of <I>Slave Badges and the Slave-Hire System in Charleston, South Carolina, 1783-1865</B></I> make an interesting observation about the 1820 badges estimating "...that only 2,050 badges might have been sold" and based on the U.S census figure of 12,652 slaves in Charleston that year, they postulate that "...16 percent of the slave population could have been wearing badges."<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Small Collectibles (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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