(1861) Copper Civil War Store Card F-185A-2a, N.T. Waterman MI

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 185A-2a — store card of N.T. Waterman, Coldwater, Michigan. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 2 known varieties, N.T. Waterman produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 185A-2a) is common for this merchant. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Merchants in border states faced particular challenges during the coin shortage, as economic uncertainty and military activity disrupted normal commercial patterns more severely than in the interior. 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 2 cataloged varieties, N.T. Waterman was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 185A-2a