(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-220-B-1a, Fond du Lac; /1127 WI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from Fond du Lac; /1127 of Wisconsin. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. The Act of April 22, 1864 effectively ended private coinage by imposing penalties of up to five years imprisonment and a $2,000 fine for producing unauthorized coins or tokens. 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 8 cataloged varieties, Fond du Lac; Alling/0016N was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 220-B