(1863) Civil War Store Card F-115D-3b, Merriam & Co. MA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$576 XF Details 05-29-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Merriam & Co., located in Boston, Massachusetts. Massachusetts was a center of manufacturing and abolitionist sentiment, with Boston and surrounding cities contributing Civil War tokens as emergency currency. With 4 known varieties, Merriam & Co. produced a modest number of token types. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 115D-3b) 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. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 4 cataloged varieties, Merriam & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 115D-3b