(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-577A-1a, A. Burleson MI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$780 AU50BN 03-31-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of A. Burleson, located in Litchfield, Michigan. 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 2 known varieties, A. Burleson produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 577A-1a) 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. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

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, A. Burleson was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 577A-1a