(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-630BK-1b, Ed. Schaaf NY

Coin Details

Description

Ed. Schaaf of New York issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War. 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 630BK-1b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. 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 17 cataloged varieties, Ed. Schaaf was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630BK-1b