(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-510AG-1b, J. Pritzlaff & Co. WI

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 510AG-1b — store card of J. Pritzlaff & Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee was Wisconsin's largest city and a major brewing and manufacturing center, with its large German immigrant population strongly supporting the Union cause. With 3 known varieties, J. Pritzlaff & Co. produced a modest number of token types. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 510AG-1b) is common to somewhat scarce. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Brass tokens are moderately available, with their yellowish color distinguishing them from the standard copper issues. Token production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute, with die sinkers working around the clock to fill merchant orders.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 3 cataloged varieties, J. Pritzlaff & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 510AG-1b