(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-740B-2A, J.S. Queeby IN

Coin Details

Description

J.S. Queeby of Peru issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. J.S. Queeby issued 8 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 740B-2A) is common for this merchant. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. 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. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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 8 cataloged varieties, J.S. Queeby was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 740B-2A