(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-430H-1a, Schafer & Bro. IN

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Schafer & Bro. of Huntington, Indiana, cataloged as Fuld 430H-1a. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. This copper striking (Fuld 430H-1a) 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. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. Token production during the Civil War represented the largest private coinage movement in American history, with an estimated 25 million pieces struck between 1862 and 1864. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

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, Schafer & Bro. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 430H-1a