(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-480B-1a, A.H. Bowen MI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by A.H. Bowen of Hudson, Michigan. Michigan was a significant industrial state during the Civil War, with Detroit emerging as a major manufacturing center and merchants across the state producing tokens. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 480B-1a) is common. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Die sinkers in major cities competed fiercely for merchant orders, offering stock reverses that could be paired with custom obverse dies featuring the merchant's name and business information. George and Melvin Fuld's catalog remains the standard reference for Civil War tokens, with each variety assigned a unique identification number.

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, A.H. Bowen was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 480B-1a