(1861) Copper Civil War Store Card F-150AA-1a, Haas & Powell IL

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Haas & Powell of Chicago, Illinois. Chicago's explosive growth as a railroad and commodity trading center made it Illinois' primary source of Civil War store cards. With 3 known varieties, Haas & Powell produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 150AA-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. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. Some token dies were used so extensively that late strikes show significant die wear, providing collectors with a chronological sequence of the production run from fresh to deteriorated states. Over 25 million Civil War tokens were produced before Congress ended private coinage in April 1864, making them the largest private coinage movement in American history.

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 3 cataloged varieties, Haas & Powell was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 150AA-1a