(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-280E-2a, A. Schmitz MI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$240 XF40BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

This Civil War token was issued by A. Schmitz in Michigan. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 3 known varieties, A. Schmitz produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 280E-2a) is common for this merchant. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Die sinkers in major cities competed fiercely for merchant orders, offering stock reverses that could be paired with custom obverse dies featuring the merchant's name and business information. 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 3 cataloged varieties, A. Schmitz was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 280E-2a