(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-175F-1b, John C. Washburn IN

Coin Details

Description

John C. Washburn, based in Columbia, Indiana, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 3 known varieties, John C. Washburn produced a modest number of token types. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 175F-1b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 3 cataloged varieties, John C. Washburn was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 175F-1b