(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-570E-2a, King & Reed IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of King & Reed, located in Logansport, Indiana. Hoosier merchants in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and smaller towns issued Civil War tokens reflecting Indiana's diverse commercial landscape. With 3 known varieties, King & Reed produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 570E-2a) is common among the known varieties. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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, King & Reed was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 570E-2a