(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-360B-1b, Geo. E. Stanley WI

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Geo. E. Stanley of LA Crosse, Wisconsin, cataloged as Fuld 360B-1b. 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. With 2 known varieties, Geo. E. Stanley produced a modest number of token types. This brass striking (Fuld 360B-1b) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. 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. Over 25 million Civil War tokens were produced before Congress ended private coinage in April 1864, making them the largest private coinage movement in American history.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 2 cataloged varieties, Geo. E. Stanley was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 360B-1b