(1861-65) Copper Civil War Store Card F-765J-1a, A. Ludewig PA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$70 MS63BN 05-29-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

Merchant token from A. Ludewig of Pennsylvania, cataloged as Fuld 765J-1a. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. With 2 known varieties, A. Ludewig produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 765J-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. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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, A. Ludewig was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 765J-1a