(1862) Brass Civil War Sutler Token SCH-MM-4, Monitor & Merrimac

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,200 MS62 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War sutler token issued by Monitor & Merrimac (commercial). Struck in brass, this piece circulated as private camp currency redeemable for merchandise. A token referencing the famous March 9, 1862 naval battle between the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (ex-Merrimack) at Hampton Roads, Virginia. This piece straddles the boundary between sutler token and patriotic token, using the dramatic naval engagement as a commercial or patriotic motif. Most sutler tokens were produced in brass, and this piece reflects the standard material choice of wartime token manufacturers. Manufacturers obtained their brass blanks from the same commercial metalworking supply chains that served button makers and hardware producers. Dated 1862, produced during the period when federal coin hoarding created severe currency shortages in military camps. Sutler issues constitute the scarcest of the three Civil War token families, with significantly lower survival rates than the more commonly encountered patriotic and store card types. The April and June 1864 anti-token laws ended legal production of sutler tokens, and Congress completed the process by abolishing sutlers entirely in 1866.

Rarity Notes

Schenkman SCH-MM-4. All sutler tokens are rated R-5 or higher on the Fuld rarity scale (fewer than 200 surviving examples of any given variety). Brass strikes are common for sutler tokens. An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 sutler token pieces survive across all varieties.

Cross References

Schenkman SCH-MM-4