(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-495B-2a, F. Sloan MI

Coin Details

Description

Store card of F. Sloan in Ionia, Michigan, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 4 known varieties, F. Sloan produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 495B-2a) is common among the known varieties. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Some token dies were used so extensively that late strikes show significant die wear, providing collectors with a chronological sequence of the production run from fresh to deteriorated states. 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 4 cataloged varieties, F. Sloan was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 495B-2a