(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-20B-1b, T. & N. C. McCullough IN

Coin Details

Auction Record

$1,140 MS64 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

This Civil War token was issued by T. & N. C. McCullough, operating in Anderson, Indiana. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 2 known varieties, T. & N. C. McCullough produced a modest number of token types. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 20B-1b) is common to somewhat scarce. Die sinkers produced these tokens on hand-operated screw presses, often filling orders for multiple merchants simultaneously. 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 strikings are among the more available variants, though less common than copper. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 2 cataloged varieties, T. & N. C. McCullough was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 20B-1b