(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-690A-1a, GW-600, Coutts & Bro. NJ

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from GW-600, Coutts & Bro. of New Jersey, cataloged as Fuld 690A-1a. New Jersey was a vital industrial and transportation state, with Newark, Trenton, and Paterson as major manufacturing centers where merchants issued Civil War tokens. With 2 known varieties, GW-600, Coutts & Bro. produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 690A-1a) is common. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. 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 2 cataloged varieties, GW-600, Coutts & Bro. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 690A-1a