(1861-65) Civil War Store Card F-10-H, NY

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 10-H. New York was the nation's commercial capital, with New York City alone producing hundreds of store card varieties from Broadway retailers to waterfront wholesalers. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Civil War tokens circulated alongside postage currency, fractional currency notes, and encased postage stamps as substitutes for the federal coins that had disappeared from commercial channels. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 1 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 10-H