(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-580B-4a, Hatch & Craw MI

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 580B-4a — store card of Hatch & Craw, Lowell, 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 4 known varieties, Hatch & Craw produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 580B-4a) is common among the known varieties. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The coin shortage of 1862-1864 affected virtually every retail transaction in the Northern states, as hoarding removed silver and copper coins from circulation faster than the U.S. Mint could replace them. 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 4 cataloged varieties, Hatch & Craw was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 580B-4a