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

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from Fond du Lac; Wright/Wright of 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. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. The Act of April 22, 1864 effectively ended private coinage by imposing penalties of up to five years imprisonment and a $2,000 fine for producing unauthorized coins or tokens. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

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-M