(1861-65) Brass Civil War Store Card F-750Oa-1b, Pennypacker & Sibley PA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$480 MS62 09-02-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War-era store card from Pennypacker & Sibley of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 750Oa-1b) is common to somewhat scarce. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. 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. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 1 cataloged varieties, Pennypacker & Sibley was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 750Oa-1b