(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-860A-1a, C.P. Curtis OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by C.P. Curtis of Toledo, Ohio. Toledo was a growing Lake Erie port city and railroad hub, handling grain and lumber shipments that fueled the Northern war economy. C.P. Curtis issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 860A-1a) is common for this merchant. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The coin shortage of 1862-1864 affected virtually every retail transaction in the Northern states, as hoarding removed silver and copper coins from circulation faster than the U.S. Mint could replace them. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily 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 6 cataloged varieties, C.P. Curtis was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 860A-1a