(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-460Q-1b, Roos & Schmalzried IN

Coin Details

Auction Record

$336 MS66 10-14-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Fuld 460Q-1b — store card of Roos & Schmalzried, Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis served as a major Union military staging area, with Camp Morton housing Confederate prisoners and Governor Morton directing one of the war's most vigorous state efforts. Roos & Schmalzried issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This brass striking (Fuld 460Q-1b) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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, Roos & Schmalzried was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 460Q-1b