(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-630AN-2ao, R. T. Kelly NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$288 MS65BN 10-14-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of R. T. Kelly 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. This piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 8 cataloged varieties, R. T. Kelly was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630AN-2ao