(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-500O-1a, F.W. Mesing IN

Coin Details

Auction Record

$120 AU55BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

F.W. Mesing of Indiana produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 500O-1a) is common. 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. Over 25 million Civil War tokens were produced before Congress ended private coinage in April 1864, making them the largest private coinage movement in American history.

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 1 cataloged varieties, F.W. Mesing was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 500O-1a