(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-620P-2a, Wm. L. Williams WI

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by Wm. L. Williams, operating in 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. With 4 known varieties, Wm. L. Williams produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 620P-2a) is common for this merchant. 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. 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 4 cataloged varieties, Wm. L. Williams was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 620P-2a