(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-595A-1a, Isaac Hewitt MI

Coin Details

Description

Isaac Hewitt of Maple Rapids 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 2 known varieties, Isaac Hewitt produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 595A-1a) is common. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Civil War tokens circulated alongside postage currency, fractional currency notes, and encased postage stamps as substitutes for the federal coins that had disappeared from commercial channels. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

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, Isaac Hewitt was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 595A-1a