(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-890A-1a, Eaton & Barns WI

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 890A-1a — store card of Eaton & Barns, Tomah, Wisconsin. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. This copper striking (Fuld 890A-1a) is common among the known varieties. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. Some token dies were used so extensively that late strikes show significant die wear, providing collectors with a chronological sequence of the production run from fresh to deteriorated states. 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 1 cataloged varieties, Eaton & Barns was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 890A-1a