(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-535A-2a, Wm. Smith PA

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Wm. Smith of Lawrence, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. With 2 known varieties, Wm. Smith produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 535A-2a) is common among the known varieties. 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. The Civil War token series provides one of the most comprehensive records of mid-nineteenth century American retail commerce, documenting businesses that left few other historical traces. 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, Wm. Smith was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 535A-2a