(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-765F-2a, W.A. Gildenfenney PA

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from W.A. Gildenfenney, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania business. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. W.A. Gildenfenney issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 765F-2a) is common for this merchant. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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 7 cataloged varieties, W.A. Gildenfenney was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 765F-2a