(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-430E-1a, J.W. Griffith IN

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from J.W. Griffith of Huntington, Indiana, cataloged as Fuld 430E-1a. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 430E-1a) is common. 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. The coin shortage was exacerbated by the simultaneous withdrawal of gold and silver from circulation following the suspension of specie payments in December 1861. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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 1 cataloged varieties, J.W. Griffith was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 430E-1a