(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-200/346ao, New York

Coin Details

Auction Record

$528 MS65BN 04-13-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

New York of New York issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War. New York state generated the second-largest body of Civil War token issues, concentrated in New York City but extending to Albany, Troy, Buffalo, and smaller commercial centers. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. 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. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 1 cataloged varieties, New York was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 200/346ao