(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-570A-4a, Fairbank & Scriver MI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$430 XF45BN 03-14-2023 eBay

Description

Fairbank & Scriver of Lawton issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Michigan was a significant industrial state during the Civil War, with Detroit emerging as a major manufacturing center and merchants across the state producing tokens. With 3 known varieties, Fairbank & Scriver produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 570A-4a) is common for this merchant. 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 production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute, with die sinkers working around the clock to fill merchant orders.

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, Fairbank & Scriver was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 570A-4a