(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-260A-2a, Billiard Room & Restaurant MA

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Billiard Room & Restaurant, located in Fall River, Massachusetts. Massachusetts was a center of manufacturing and abolitionist sentiment, with Boston and surrounding cities contributing Civil War tokens as emergency currency. The 10 cataloged varieties for Billiard Room & Restaurant indicate a notable level of token production. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 260A-2a) is common for this merchant. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. 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 10 cataloged varieties, Billiard Room & Restaurant was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 260A-2a