(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-175F-2a, John C. Washburn IN

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from John C. Washburn of Columbia, Indiana, cataloged as Fuld 175F-2a. Hoosier merchants in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and smaller towns issued Civil War tokens reflecting Indiana's diverse commercial landscape. With 3 known varieties, John C. Washburn produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 175F-2a) 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. 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 3 cataloged varieties, John C. Washburn was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 175F-2a