(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-480D-1a, Green & Wardsworth MI

Coin Details

Description

Green & Wardsworth of Hudson issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 2 known varieties, Green & Wardsworth produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 480D-1a) is common. 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 2 cataloged varieties, Green & Wardsworth was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 480D-1a