(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-360A-1a, H. Brouwer & Bro. MI

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by H. Brouwer & Bro., operating in Grand Haven, Michigan. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 2 known varieties, H. Brouwer & Bro. produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 360A-1a) is common among the known varieties. 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. 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 2 cataloged varieties, H. Brouwer & Bro. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 360A-1a