(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-35A-2a, D.W. Richardson MI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$90 MS64BN 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Merchant token from D.W. Richardson of Almont, Michigan, cataloged as Fuld 35A-2a. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 2 known varieties, D.W. Richardson produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 35A-2a) is common among the known varieties. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. 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 2 cataloged varieties, D.W. Richardson was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 35A-2a