(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-115D-2a, Merriam & Co. MA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$11,400 MS63BN 06-16-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War-era store card from Merriam & Co., a Boston, Massachusetts business. Massachusetts was a center of manufacturing and abolitionist sentiment, with Boston and surrounding cities contributing Civil War tokens as emergency currency. With 4 known varieties, Merriam & Co. produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 115D-2a) is common for this merchant. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. 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 4 cataloged varieties, Merriam & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 115D-2a