(1861) Copper Civil War Store Card F-150AS-2a, Royal Bank of Ireland IL

Coin Details

Auction Record

$538 MS64BN 09-19-2023 eBay

Description

Royal Bank of Ireland, based in Chicago, Illinois, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Chicago's explosive growth as a railroad and commodity trading center made it Illinois' primary source of Civil War store cards. With 2 known varieties, Royal Bank of Ireland produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 150AS-2a) is common among the known varieties. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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-2a