(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-105A-1a, James Adams & Co. NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$288 MS67BN 07-03-2019 Heritage Auctions

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of James Adams & Co. in 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 copper composition of this variety (Fuld 105A-1a) is common for this merchant. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, the U.S. Mint dramatically increased production of small-denomination coins, and the new bronze two-cent piece helped alleviate the shortage. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 1 cataloged varieties, James Adams & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 105A-1a