(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-510Ab-1ao, Friedrich Miller WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$456 AU58BN 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

This Civil War token was issued by Friedrich Miller in Wisconsin. 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 piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Over 25 million Civil War tokens were produced before Congress ended private coinage in April 1864, making them the largest private coinage movement in American history.

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. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 1 cataloged varieties, Friedrich Miller was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 510Ab-1ao