(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-630BB-9b, 399 B'Way NY

Coin Details

Description

399 B'Way of New York issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. 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. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 630BB-9b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 81 cataloged varieties, 399 B'Way was one of the most prolific merchants in the series.

Cross References

Fuld 630BB-9b