(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-464A-2a, GW-581 Petersen's Jewelers

Coin Details

Description

Petersen's of Honesdale issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. Petersen's produced 30 cataloged die varieties, reflecting a substantial token operation. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 464A-2a) is common for this merchant. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily 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 30 cataloged varieties, Petersen's was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 464A-2a