(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-105P-2a, S.B. Seward NY

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from S.B. Seward of New York, cataloged as Fuld 105P-2a. 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. This copper striking (Fuld 105P-2a) is common among the known varieties. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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 7 cataloged varieties, S.B. Seward was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 105P-2a