(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-630CG-1a, White Hatter NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$70 MS63BN 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

White Hatter of New York produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. New York was the nation's commercial capital, with New York City alone producing hundreds of store card varieties from Broadway retailers to waterfront wholesalers. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 630CG-1a) is common. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Die sinkers in major cities competed fiercely for merchant orders, offering stock reverses that could be paired with custom obverse dies featuring the merchant's name and business information. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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, White Hatter was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 630CG-1a