(1863) Copper Civil War Store Card F-920F-1a, Fischer & Rohr WI

Coin Details

Description

Store card of Fischer & Rohr in Watertown, Wisconsin, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. 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. With 4 known varieties, Fischer & Rohr produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 920F-1a) is common. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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 4 cataloged varieties, Fischer & Rohr was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 920F-1a