(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-620G-1a, Jaenicke & Klotzsch WI

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 620G-1a — store card of Jaenicke & Klotzsch, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 620G-1a) is common. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. Some token dies were used so extensively that late strikes show significant die wear, providing collectors with a chronological sequence of the production run from fresh to deteriorated states. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

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 1 cataloged varieties, Jaenicke & Klotzsch was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 620G-1a