(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-577A-1b, A. Burleson MI

Coin Details

Description

Store card of A. Burleson in Litchfield, Michigan, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Michigan was a significant industrial state during the Civil War, with Detroit emerging as a major manufacturing center and merchants across the state producing tokens. With 2 known varieties, A. Burleson produced a modest number of token types. This brass striking (Fuld 577A-1b) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors. 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 2 cataloged varieties, A. Burleson was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 577A-1b