(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-220J-2a, Perkins & Smith WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$156 MS62BN 10-14-2020 Heritage Auctions

Description

Merchant token from Perkins & Smith of Fonddulac, Wisconsin, cataloged as Fuld 220J-2a. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. With 2 known varieties, Perkins & Smith produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 220J-2a) 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. 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 2 cataloged varieties, Perkins & Smith was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 220J-2a