(1862) Copper Civil War Store Card F-695A-1a, Marshall's Variety Store NY

Coin Details

Description

Marshall's Variety Store of New York issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War. New York state generated the second-largest body of Civil War token issues, concentrated in New York City but extending to Albany, Troy, Buffalo, and smaller commercial centers. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 695A-1a) is common for this merchant. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. The federal government's response to the coin shortage included issuing fractional currency in denominations as small as three cents, but these paper notes wore out quickly and were unpopular with merchants. 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 7 cataloged varieties, Marshall's Variety Store was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 695A-1a