(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-750Laa-1a, Hagan's PA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$6,600 AU50BN 04-15-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

This Civil War token was issued by Hagan's in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. This copper striking (Fuld 750Laa-1a) is common among the known varieties. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. 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. 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 1 cataloged varieties, Hagan's was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 750Laa-1a