(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-760A-1a, Murray & Bro IN

Coin Details

Description

Murray & Bro, a Pierceton merchant, issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 760A-1a) is common for this merchant. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. The coin shortage was exacerbated by the simultaneous withdrawal of gold and silver from circulation following the suspension of specie payments in December 1861. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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, Murray & Bro was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 760A-1a