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If you were in Baltimore, circa 1837, you might have bought your bread with a tiny political cartoon. Small change was hard to come by. In its absence, penny-like coins known as “hard times tokens” circulated widely, a form of unofficial currency. Hard times tokens seem like normal pennies until you take a closer look. To avoid charges of counterfeiting, the text on the tokens frequently proclaimed that they were “Not One Cent/But Just As Good.” In the place of the familiar Lincoln’s head, you might notice a ship being wrecked against the rocks, a leaping jackass, or Andrew Jackson popping out of a treasure-chest like a Jack-in-the-Box, encircled by the phrase “I take the responsibility.” These images are succinct expressions of the anger and disappointment felt in the wake of the Panic of 1837 and the economic depression that followed it. ....