(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-50A-1a, John Reisse WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$432 AU58BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

John Reisse, based in Barton, Wisconsin, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. This copper striking (Fuld 50A-1a) is common among the known varieties. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. Merchants in border states faced particular challenges during the coin shortage, as economic uncertainty and military activity disrupted normal commercial patterns more severely than in the interior. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

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, John Reisse was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 50A-1a