(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-800A-2a, C.C. Buhl IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from C.C. Buhl, a Richmond, Indiana business. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 2 known varieties, C.C. Buhl produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 800A-2a) is common for this merchant. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. Token production during the Civil War represented the largest private coinage movement in American history, with an estimated 25 million pieces struck between 1862 and 1864. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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 2 cataloged varieties, C.C. Buhl was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 800A-2a