(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-72A/0a, Indian Uniface

Coin Details

Auction Record

$192 F12BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War token cataloged as Fuld 72A/0a, combining obverse die 72 — an Indian Head design modeled after Longacre's federal cent — with reverse die 0 bearing an Indian Head design. Indian Head dies ranked second in popularity among Civil War token obverses, chosen because the public already trusted the familiar federal cent design. Produced in copper, the dominant metal of Civil War token production. Copper tokens survive in greater numbers than any other composition, reflecting their enormous production volumes. Assigned to the Location Unknown section of the Fuld catalog because neither die carries a merchant's name, address, or city — indicating this was a patriotic rather than commercial issue. Dated 1863, the peak year of Civil War token production when the coin shortage was most acute.

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, Indian Uniface was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 72A/0a