(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-10F-1a, Elephantine Shoe Store NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$228 MS64 11-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card issued by Elephantine Shoe Store 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. This copper striking (Fuld 10F-1a) is common among the known varieties. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. The coin shortage of 1862-1864 affected virtually every retail transaction in the Northern states, as hoarding removed silver and copper coins from circulation faster than the U.S. Mint could replace them. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

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 3 cataloged varieties, Elephantine Shoe Store was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 10F-1a