(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-10H-16a, D.L. Wing & Co. NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$204 AU53 08-25-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

D.L. Wing & Co. of New York issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War. D.L. Wing & Co. operated as flour merchants at 318 Broadway in Albany, marketing their product under the patriotic brand name "Union Flour." The tokens feature wheat stalks flanking the inscription, reflecting Albany's position as a major grain milling center on the Erie Canal. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 10H-16a) is common for this merchant. 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. 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 18 cataloged varieties, D.L. Wing & Co. was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 10H-16a