Mar 30, 2017 - Sale 2441

Sale 2441 - Lot 112

Price Realized: $ 6,250
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 8,000 - $ 12,000
OF THE UTMOST RARITY (SLAVERY AND ABOLITION--SOUTH CAROLINA.) Copper slave badge, made by Charleston silversmith John Joseph Lafar. An almost square copper piece, 5 cm x 5.5 cm, with the word 'Charleston,' across the top, then '1824' beneath and within a rectangular border; beneath that, the word 'Servant' within another rectangular border, and the number '1980' all incised in the metal. In the lower center is Lafar's 'logo'. The surface of the badge has and even, dark patina, with no sign of oxidation; nor has there been any attempt to polish the surface, as is frequently done with coins and other metallic items. Charleston, SC, 1824

Additional Details

a fine example of one of the rarest relics of the period of slavery in america's deep south. Slave badges, sometimes called 'tags', are unique to Charleston and Charleston Neck. They were created for the use of slave owners who allowed their slaves to be rented out. While the practice of renting the use of slaves was common throughout the South and to cities like Savannah, Mobile, and New Orleans, Charleston and Charleston Neck were the only places that employed slave badges as a manner of recording that use. Slaves were required to wear a slave badge or identification marker at all times when off the plantation. Fees for these badges, similar to a license or tax, were established based on the abilities and skills of the slave. These fees or taxes brought considerable income to the city of Charleston.
The present example was made by a well-known Charleston silversmith, John Joseph Lafar (1781-1849). Lafar and his brother Joseph were members of a family of silversmiths that had been in business from at least 1805. A slave badge, virtually identical to this one in every way, except for the servant's number, is illustrated on page 103 of E. Miller Burton's exhaustive work 'South Carolina Silversmiths 1690-1860.' An actual example of one of Lafar's tags is in the Charleston Museum, but was unfortunately polished at some earlier time, seriously affecting the surface and thus the value of the badge. the present example comes from the original south carolina family whose slaves would have worn it. it has never been offered for sale before.