(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-630AD-1a, GW-580 H.D. Gerdts NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$90 AU53BN 06-10-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

This Civil War token was issued by GW-580 H.D. Gerdts in New York. New York state generated the second-largest body of Civil War token issues, concentrated in New York City but extending to Albany, Troy, Buffalo, and smaller commercial centers. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 630AD-1a) is common. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. The transition from large copper cents to small-diameter bronze cents in 1857 had already created a shortage mindset, making the public particularly anxious about coin supplies when war began. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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 7 cataloged varieties, GW-580 H.D. Gerdts was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630AD-1a