(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-560A-2a, New York Store CT

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from New York Store, a Waterbury, Connecticut business. Connecticut was a major arms manufacturing center, with Colt in Hartford and Winchester in New Haven. Its merchants issued tokens alongside the munitions output. With 3 known varieties, New York Store produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 560A-2a) is common for this merchant. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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 3 cataloged varieties, New York Store was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 560A-2a