(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-700E-2a, Frank L. Gay

Coin Details

Auction Record

$92 MS63BN 09-10-2023 eBay

Description

Civil War store card from the Fuld 700E-2a series, attributed to the unidentified issuer "RH." Assigned to the Fuld 700 "RH" series, a large group of Civil War store cards whose issuer remains unidentified. The scope of the series — spanning many die pairings and metal variants — points to a professional token manufacturer rather than an individual retail merchant. The copper composition ensured this token closely matched the weight, size, and color of federal Indian Head cents, facilitating acceptance in daily transactions. Dated 1863, the peak year of Civil War token production when the coin shortage was most acute. The coin shortage of 1862-1864 affected virtually every retail transaction in the Northern states, as hoarding removed silver and copper coins from circulation faster than the U.S. Mint could replace them. Over 25 million Civil War tokens were produced before Congress ended private coinage in 1864, making this one of the most extensive series in American numismatics.

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 21 cataloged varieties, Frank L. Gay was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 700E-2a