(1862) Brass Civil War Store Card F-750V-3b, GW-557 N & G. Taylor Co. PA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$2,040 MS65 11-18-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

Fuld 750V-3b — store card of GW-557 N & G. Taylor Co., Phila, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. GW-557 N & G. Taylor Co. issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 750V-3b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. The hoarding of federal coinage created an acute shortage of small change, prompting thousands of merchants to issue tokens as practical substitutes. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 6 cataloged varieties, GW-557 N & G. Taylor Co. was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 750V-3b