(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-095D-2bo, T. Ivory NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$504 MS62 09-02-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

T. Ivory of New York issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War. T. Ivory operated a billiard saloon at the corner of Fulton and Orange Streets in Brooklyn. His tokens feature a bust of George Washington on the reverse inscribed "THE WASHINGTON TOKEN. 1863." One variety was struck over an 1857 Seated Liberty Dime, with traces of the original coin still visible — making overstrike varieties especially prized among specialists. This piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Brass strikings are among the more available variants, though less common than copper.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 1 cataloged varieties, T. Ivory was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 095D-2bo