(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-600B-2a, Ezra Swain IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Ezra Swain, located in Mechanics, Indiana. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 2 known varieties, Ezra Swain produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 600B-2a) is common for this merchant. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. 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, Ezra Swain was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 600B-2a