(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-450G-8b, A Gleason MI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$264 MS61 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

A. Gleason of Hillsdale issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. A. Gleason issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 450G-8b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. 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. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

Rarity Notes

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

Cross References

Fuld 450G-8b