(1861-65) Civil War Store Card F-220-G-1a, Fond du Lac; Mason/Mason WI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Fond du Lac; Mason/Mason in Wisconsin. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. The Civil War token series provides one of the most comprehensive records of mid-nineteenth century American retail commerce, documenting businesses that left few other historical traces. 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

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 8 cataloged varieties, Fond du Lac; Alling/0016N was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 220-G