(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-530A-1a, Franckenberg & Keller WI

Coin Details

Description

Store card of Franckenberg & Keller in Newburg, Wisconsin, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. 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 530A-1a) is common among the known varieties. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Token issuers ranged from sole proprietors to large retail establishments, with some merchants ordering thousands of pieces while others had only a few hundred struck for local distribution. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

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, Franckenberg & Keller was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 530A-1a