(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-587B-1b, A. Button MI

Coin Details

Description

A. Button, based in Lyons, Michigan, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. A. Button issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 587B-1b) is common to somewhat scarce. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

Rarity Notes

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

Cross References

Fuld 587B-1b