Charleston, South Carolina, was the only city in the antebellum South to issue these tags or badges which had to be worn by any slave that was "hired out". Each year a slave owner who hired out a slave had to pay a tax and the slave had to wear a brass "Slave Tag" proving the tax had been paid. The greater the skill and training required, the higher the tax. Charleston slave tags were authorized from 1800 up to the Civil War with the last badges made in 1865. We have offered several great groupings of slave tags in past auctions, but now offer, undoubtedly, the only complete collection of rare slave trades including the finest and only 1800 Huckster known. This badge is unique. Also included is the ultra-rare Carpenter of which no more than 4 or 5 examples are extant. Also in this grouping is the only known serial number "1" badge known and it is a pristine, non-excavated 1864 dated Mechanic. All badges in this collection are in very good to excellent condition with no repairs and all complete. All of these badges were family heirlooms or souvenirs excavated around various sites around Charleston and all with exception of 1864 serial number "1" Mechanic are of the earlier large varieties that are the most difficult to find. Slave Badges and the Slave-Hire System in Charleston, South Carolina, 1783-1865 by Harlan Greene, Harry S. and Brian E. Hutchins, 2004 is a wonderful, scholarly text that explains the quantities and makers of each badge and the census of known examples. All badges are authentic, original, and collected by a leading numismatics authority over a 30 year period. Almost all are maker marked and the other badges are noted as to maker as documented in the Greene/Hutchins text. Quoted portions of badge descriptions are from their text: 1) 1800 octagonal "HUCKSTER" No. 49. 1800 is the first year that badges were made which had to be worn at all times by new Charleston law. Few badges from this date are known and as noted this is the only known Huckster and it is maker marked "Atmar". Ralph Atmar, Jr., a jeweler, was the first manufacturer of slave hire badges for the city of Charleston. No other city had such strict regulations and no other city required slaves to wear badges. The original ordinance published September 3, 1799 in the City Gazette stated the following: "Denomination" and price of said badges are as follows: Huckster, not under 30 years of age, $6 per badge. Mechanic, $3. Porters and Cart and Drayman, $2. Fishers and hired servants $1. These indeed were the categories and prices established by the ordinance. The terms in the press give us clues as to what the words on the badges were: "Huckster", "Mechanic", "Porter"….." This unique badge was totally unknown to the trade until now. Two other Hucksters are known, both dated 1803, one of which is in the historic Charleston Confederate Museum at 188 Meeting Street. 2) 1810 octagonal "FISHER" No. 28. Another rare badge which is rarely offered. This badge is maker marked "Lafar" on verso. John Joseph Lafar was the official badge maker for the City of Charleston for about 20 years. He owned slaves and also served as City Marshal from 1818-1830, a total of 656 badges were made in 1810 of all types. The survival rate on slave badges is extremely low. For instance, even though 644 badges were made in 1808 and 1809, no examples are known. During the Civil War, copper for these badges was so scarce that it was advertised for by manufacturer to buy old copper, no doubt many old badges which had no value to their owners now were recycled. 3) 1813 octagonal "CARPENTER" No. 35. This badge is maker marked "Lafar" on verso and few Carpenter badges were made. Based on the great rarity of this particular trade, there are only 4 or 5 Carpenters known, one being 1811 and the others being 1813. The highest serial number noted is "69". 4) 1815 diamond "FRUITERER & c" No. 74. This badge is maker marked "Lafar" on verso and few Fruiterer badges are known. Fruiterer is a very unusual occupation by today's terms and was not a fruit picker but actually a vendor. Lafar is unique in his badges that he added "& c". Earlier badges had Fruiterer only. "It shows the confusing arising from the term, for a Fruiterer sold more than fruit". 5) 1818 square "PORTER" No. 604. This badge is maker marked "Lafar" on verso. Porter was the 2nd most common of slave hire badges made, but this is a fine example from an early year where the shape had been changed to square instead of diamond. 6) 1819 diamond "PORTER" No. 583. This badge is also made by Lafar, and note the change from 1818 back to a diamond shape. 7) 1823 diamond "SERVANT" No. 1328. This badge is maker marked "JJ Lafar" on obverse. This particular Lafar mark is scarce and only occurred for a few years. "It is estimated that only 1,261 badges were sold (1823) and that number of slaves were hired out, a great decrease from the year before, suggesting that the Denmark Vesey Rebellion, and fear of those slaves that hired their time, might have an impact on the practice in the year after the dramatic events. One slave who had an 1823 badge was "Mary", a washer woman on the green. Her badge is No. 471, her owner stated in an ad seeking her return (Courier, March 26, 1823)". 8) 1824 square "MECHANIC" No. 24. This badge, like the last, is maker marked on the obverse "JJ Lafar". Mechanic badges are among the rarer badges found and this is the first of 3 fine, rare examples in this collection. 9) 1825 diamond "SERVANT" No. 1013. This badge is maker marked "Lafar" on obverse and has a beautiful copper patina, well struck with excellent markings. Servant badges were the most common badges made and this is a fine representative of an early example. 10) 1828 square "MECHANIC" No. 219. This badge is the last year that Lafar marked his badges and this badge is maker marked "Lafar" on verso. Lafar continued to make badges, though he no longer marked them with his name. All Mechanic badges are very scarce and this is a great example with a most unusual associated document. The document also dated 1828 (April 1st), is a Charleston Bill of Sale of two slaves "Sambo and Carolina", both bricklayers who would have been required to wear a Mechanic slave tag when working in Charleston. 11) 1836 diamond "MECHANICK" No. 357. This badge is in remarkable, beautiful condition with a beaded border around misspelling or colloquial "Mechanick". This badge was made by William M. Rouse. "William M. Rouse had been selected, perhaps because of his low bid (Courier, November 18, 1835)…estimates are that 3707 badges were sold for 1836". Later badges by Rouse had Mechanic spelled correctly. 12) 1864 diamond "MECHANIC" No. 1. This is one of only two known serial number "1" badges of any type for any year and is exceedingly rare. This badge was made by William Veronee and was the last contracted slave badge maker in Charleston. Less than 1,500 badges total were made during the last 2 years of the Civil War and very few have surfaced. Scarcity of brass for these badges is noted in that "many if not all badges from these years show striking on both sides, a practice carried out by Veronee". This is a beautiful rarity with an impeccable surface. SIZE: CONDITION: Very good to fine overall. All badges have well discerned markings including cartouches, serial numbers, dates, occupations and makers marks. Badges have varying surfaces from quite smooth to pitted. 51803-1 JS (90,000-125,000)