(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-35B-1a, A.W. Wallace's CT

Coin Details

Auction Record

$69 MS63BN 10-07-2020 Heritage Auctions

Description

A.W. Wallace's of Connecticut issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Connecticut was a major arms manufacturing center, with Colt in Hartford and Winchester in New Haven. Its merchants issued tokens alongside the munitions output. With 3 known varieties, A.W. Wallace's produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 35B-1a) is common. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. Many Civil War tokens were produced in quantities far exceeding actual commercial need, as die sinkers and merchants recognized the speculative collecting interest that was already developing. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

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.W. Wallace's was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 35B-1a