(1861-65) Brass Civil War Store Card F-35B-1b, A.W. Wallace's CT

Coin Details

Auction Record

$361 MS63 12-17-2024 eBay

Description

A.W. Wallace's of Connecticut produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Connecticut was a major arms manufacturing center, with Colt in Hartford and Winchester in New Haven. Its merchants issued tokens alongside the munitions output. With 3 known varieties, A.W. Wallace's produced a modest number of token types. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 35B-1b) is common to somewhat scarce. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 3 cataloged varieties, A.W. Wallace's was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 35B-1b