(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-630AK-2b, Hussey's NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$240 MS62 06-23-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Merchant token from Hussey's of New York, cataloged as Fuld 630AK-2b. New York state generated the second-largest body of Civil War token issues, concentrated in New York City but extending to Albany, Troy, Buffalo, and smaller commercial centers. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 630AK-2b) 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. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings. 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 9 cataloged varieties, Hussey's was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630AK-2b