(1863) Brass Civil War Store Card F-60R-1b, M.KCounterstamp MD

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

Civil War store card issued by M.KCounterstamp of Baltimore, Maryland. Maryland was a border state with significant Confederate sympathies, particularly in Baltimore, where merchants issued tokens during the small change shortage. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Federal coins vanished from circulation in 1862 as people hoarded silver and then cents, leaving merchants to fill the gap with tokens. The coin shortage was exacerbated by the simultaneous withdrawal of gold and silver from circulation following the suspension of specie payments in December 1861. Most Civil War tokens were made to the size of the federal small cent, the coin they stood in for.

Cross References

Fuld 60R-1b