(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-300D-3a, E. Connell & Co. WI

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by E. Connell & Co., operating in Janesville, Wisconsin. 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 3 known varieties, E. Connell & Co. produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 300D-3a) is common. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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, E. Connell & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 300D-3a