(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-695A-2b, M.L. Marshall NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$288 MS64 04-12-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card issued by M.L. Marshall of New York. New York was the nation's commercial capital, with New York City alone producing hundreds of store card varieties from Broadway retailers to waterfront wholesalers. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 695A-2b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. 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 7 cataloged varieties, M.L. Marshall was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 695A-2b