(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-105E-3a, TJ Conry NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$312 MS65BN 05-29-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card issued by TJ Conry 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. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 105E-3a) is common. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. Civil War tokens circulated alongside postage currency, fractional currency notes, and encased postage stamps as substitutes for the federal coins that had disappeared from commercial channels. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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 5 cataloged varieties, TJ Conry was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 105E-3a