1846 W. W. Wilbur Slave Auctioneer Charleston SC Token
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:20935523 |
1846 W.W. Wilbur Slave Auctioneer Charleston SC Token
Scarce token issued by W.W. Wilbur, a slave auctioneer, in Charleston, South Carolina. No denomination, copper, 28mm, circulated condition.
Please see photos for condition.
The tokens of W.W. Wilbur of Charleston, South Carolina have long been known to the collecting community. Dated 1846 and the same size as a U.S. large cent, they were issued to be used in general commerce at the value of one cent and, in so doin...g, serve as a means of advertising Wilbur's varied business interests. Besides mentioning the auction and commission merchant aspect of his business, they also point out that Wilbur was a merchant's and manufacturer's agent, a collection broker, and a notary public. As evidenced by the number of surviving specimens and the differing varieties that were struck, Wilbur must have ordered these tokens by the thousands, probably over a period of several years.
The city of Charleston was a mecca of slave trading activity in the antebellum South. It is estimated that upwards of 5 million enslaved Africans were brought to continental North America in the 17th and 18th centuries. Of these, a full 40% is thought to have passed through the port of Charleston, making the slave trade a large part of the city's economy. Slave auctions were an almost daily occurrence until 1808, when the federal government outlawed the importation of slaves. This changed the complexion of the slave trade in Charleston, as large wholesale auctions of newly arrived Africans no longer took place. Auctioneers were forced to diversify their businesses, becoming brokers and sales agents for manufactured goods in order to supplement their income. Although establishing his business in the late 1840s, Wilbur was no exception, as evidenced by the number of professions/trades noted on his tokens.
Other than the usual sources, there is not much that I could find in print about William W. Wilbur. He seems to have been born in 1796 in the state of Virginia. His name appears in the 1830 Charleston city directory as a manufacturer of combs, doing business at 166 King Street. The 1835 city directory locates him at the same address and shows his business as a #comb and fancy store. The 1837 and 1840 city directories shows him as operating a comb manufactory at two different addresses on King Street. It is not until the 1849 directory that Wilbur is shown as an auctioneer. In succeeding directories, Wilbur is again listed as an auctioneer, but sometimes also as a commission merchant or broker. In 1859, his son joined him in the business, as it then became known as Wilbur & Son. One directory names this son as Melvin B. Wilbur, but the 1860 U.S. Census names him as McLain B. Wilbur, 27 years old and living with his parents at the family home. In addition to William W. Wilbur, head of household, age 63, the census also lists a wife, Mary E. Wilbur, age 70, and a daughter, Mary A. Wilbur, age 30, all living at the residence at 60 Anson Street. Various advertisements in the Charleston newspapers of the day announce Wilbur#s auctions, accompanied by partial inventories of the items up for sale. (One of these auction announcements is reproduced below and lists a family of Negroes that was to be sold by Wilbur. It is the existence of advertisements like this that has elevated the status of Wilbur's tokens from common advertising tokens to slavery-related items.) Wilbur died on November 29, 1861. The Charleston Mercury ran his obituary the following day, alerting their readers to the death of 65 year old William W. Wilbur, Sr.
Scarce token issued by W.W. Wilbur, a slave auctioneer, in Charleston, South Carolina. No denomination, copper, 28mm, circulated condition.
Please see photos for condition.
The tokens of W.W. Wilbur of Charleston, South Carolina have long been known to the collecting community. Dated 1846 and the same size as a U.S. large cent, they were issued to be used in general commerce at the value of one cent and, in so doin...g, serve as a means of advertising Wilbur's varied business interests. Besides mentioning the auction and commission merchant aspect of his business, they also point out that Wilbur was a merchant's and manufacturer's agent, a collection broker, and a notary public. As evidenced by the number of surviving specimens and the differing varieties that were struck, Wilbur must have ordered these tokens by the thousands, probably over a period of several years.
The city of Charleston was a mecca of slave trading activity in the antebellum South. It is estimated that upwards of 5 million enslaved Africans were brought to continental North America in the 17th and 18th centuries. Of these, a full 40% is thought to have passed through the port of Charleston, making the slave trade a large part of the city's economy. Slave auctions were an almost daily occurrence until 1808, when the federal government outlawed the importation of slaves. This changed the complexion of the slave trade in Charleston, as large wholesale auctions of newly arrived Africans no longer took place. Auctioneers were forced to diversify their businesses, becoming brokers and sales agents for manufactured goods in order to supplement their income. Although establishing his business in the late 1840s, Wilbur was no exception, as evidenced by the number of professions/trades noted on his tokens.
Other than the usual sources, there is not much that I could find in print about William W. Wilbur. He seems to have been born in 1796 in the state of Virginia. His name appears in the 1830 Charleston city directory as a manufacturer of combs, doing business at 166 King Street. The 1835 city directory locates him at the same address and shows his business as a #comb and fancy store. The 1837 and 1840 city directories shows him as operating a comb manufactory at two different addresses on King Street. It is not until the 1849 directory that Wilbur is shown as an auctioneer. In succeeding directories, Wilbur is again listed as an auctioneer, but sometimes also as a commission merchant or broker. In 1859, his son joined him in the business, as it then became known as Wilbur & Son. One directory names this son as Melvin B. Wilbur, but the 1860 U.S. Census names him as McLain B. Wilbur, 27 years old and living with his parents at the family home. In addition to William W. Wilbur, head of household, age 63, the census also lists a wife, Mary E. Wilbur, age 70, and a daughter, Mary A. Wilbur, age 30, all living at the residence at 60 Anson Street. Various advertisements in the Charleston newspapers of the day announce Wilbur#s auctions, accompanied by partial inventories of the items up for sale. (One of these auction announcements is reproduced below and lists a family of Negroes that was to be sold by Wilbur. It is the existence of advertisements like this that has elevated the status of Wilbur's tokens from common advertising tokens to slavery-related items.) Wilbur died on November 29, 1861. The Charleston Mercury ran his obituary the following day, alerting their readers to the death of 65 year old William W. Wilbur, Sr.
