(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-225AA-1b, Farmers Clothing Store MI

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by Farmers Clothing Store in Michigan. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. Farmers Clothing Store issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 225AA-1b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. George and Melvin Fuld's catalog remains the standard reference for Civil War tokens, with each variety assigned a unique identification number.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 6 cataloged varieties, Farmers Clothing Store was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225AA-1b