(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-250F-1a, F.R. Schettler WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$120 AU58BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

F.R. Schettler, a Green Bay merchant, issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. 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. F.R. Schettler issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 250F-1a) is common. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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 6 cataloged varieties, F.R. Schettler was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 250F-1a