(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-700J-1b, Eureka RI

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by Eureka in Rhode Island. Rhode Island was an important manufacturing center in textiles and jewelry, with Providence merchants issuing Civil War tokens for daily commerce. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 700J-1b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. Brass strikings are among the more available variants, though less common than copper. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 1 cataloged varieties, Eureka was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 700J-1b