(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-35A-2A, E.W. Atwood CT

Coin Details

Auction Record

$144 MS65BN 04-15-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

Merchant token from E.W. Atwood of Bridgeport, Connecticut, cataloged as Fuld 35A-2A. Connecticut was a major arms manufacturing center, with Colt in Hartford and Winchester in New Haven. Its merchants issued tokens alongside the munitions output. With 4 known varieties, E.W. Atwood produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 35A-2A) is common among the known varieties. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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 4 cataloged varieties, E.W. Atwood was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 35A-2A