(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-565-1a, H. Griswold & Co. MI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$216 UNC Details 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War-era store card from H. Griswold & Co. of Michigan. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 565-1a) is common. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. Merchants who issued tokens during the Civil War provided a critical public service by maintaining the ability to make change for routine purchases at a time when federal coinage had nearly vanished from everyday commerce. 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 1 cataloged varieties, H. Griswold & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 565-1a