(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-530B-2a, Cobb & Fisher MI

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Cobb & Fisher of Kalamazoo, Michigan, cataloged as Fuld 530B-2a. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 2 known varieties, Cobb & Fisher produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 530B-2a) is common for this merchant. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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 2 cataloged varieties, Cobb & Fisher was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 530B-2a