(1861) Copper Civil War Store Card F-150AS-1a, Royal Bank of Ireland IL

Coin Details

Auction Record

$216 MS64BN 04-12-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Royal Bank of Ireland, located in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world by 1860, rapidly becoming America's railroad hub and grain trading center with a population of 112,000. With 2 known varieties, Royal Bank of Ireland produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 150AS-1a) is common for this merchant. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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, Royal Bank of Ireland was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 150AS-1a