(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-690A-2a, Coutts & Bro. NJ

Coin Details

Auction Record

$192 MS63BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

GW-600, Coutts & Bro. of New Jersey issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. 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. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 690A-2a) is common for this merchant. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Token production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute, with die sinkers working around the clock to fill merchant orders.

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-2a