(1863) Civil War Store Card F-630H-1fo, NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$7,800 MS64 03-25-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 630H-1fo. 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. This piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. Die sinkers produced these tokens on hand-operated screw presses, often filling orders for multiple merchants simultaneously. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. The silver composition indicates a piece produced outside the normal commercial run, as a numismatic item. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

Rarity Notes

Silver strikings are considerably scarcer than base metal versions, typically produced in small quantities for collectors or as special presentation pieces. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 9 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630H-1fo