(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-720A-1a, Greenway & Co's WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$216 XF45BN 06-23-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Greenway & Co's, based in Ripon, Wisconsin, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. The 11 cataloged varieties for Greenway & Co's indicate a notable level of token production. This copper striking (Fuld 720A-1a) is common among the known varieties. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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 11 cataloged varieties, Greenway & Co's was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 720A-1a