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1844 Charleston FRUITERER Slave Hire Badge #68

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Cultures & Ethnicities Start Price:875.00 USD Estimated At:3,500.00 - 4,000.00 USD
1844 Charleston FRUITERER Slave Hire Badge #68
<B>1844 Charleston FRUITERER Slave Hire Badge. Number 68.</B></I> A flat diamond-shaped tag with clipped, rounded corners, holed for suspension, 56mm x 58mm. No hallmark, but manufactured by local silversmith John Mood (who was also a Methodist minister). This would be the last year that Mood received the city's contract. The elements on the front are as follows (top to bottom): "CHARLESTON" in a crescent-shaped bar punch (ARL a bit lightly stamped); an incuse "68" in individual punches; "FRUITERER &c" in a rectangular punch (FR a bit light); and "1844" bar punched. The condition is very fine, with overall chocolate and a bit of olive patina. <BR><BR>Fruiterer &c [et cetera] is one of the rarest occupations making this, especially in combination with a low two-digit number, an extremely desirable slave badge. The city fee structure was set up at this time so that a Fruiterer (seller of fruits and cakes) badge would cost the slaveholder $5.00 whereas a servant badge was only $2.00. These fees would be doubled if the owner lived outside the city limits. Also, the system was such that the slave could not pick up his own badge under any circumstance- his owner had to appear in person.