(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-510M-1a, Goes & Falk WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$576 MS66BN 10-14-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Fuld 510M-1a — store card of Goes & Falk, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee was Wisconsin's largest city and a major brewing and manufacturing center, with its large German immigrant population strongly supporting the Union cause. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 510M-1a) is common for this merchant. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. The transition from large copper cents to small-diameter bronze cents in 1857 had already created a shortage mindset, making the public particularly anxious about coin supplies when war began. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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 1 cataloged varieties, Goes & Falk was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 510M-1a