(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-750W-1a, Volunteer Refreshment Saloon PA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$100 MS63BN 06-27-2024 eBay

Description

Volunteer Refreshment Saloon of Phila issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. With 2 known varieties, Volunteer Refreshment Saloon produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 750W-1a) is common. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex 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 2 cataloged varieties, Volunteer Refreshment Saloon was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 750W-1a