(1863) Copper-Nickel Civil War Store Card F-290E-5d, W.H. Brooks Jr. IN

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from W.H. Brooks Jr. of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, cataloged as Fuld 290E-5d. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. W.H. Brooks Jr. issued 8 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper-nickel, this die combination (Fuld 290E-5d) is somewhat scarce. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce, resembling the federal Indian Head cent in both size and color. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

Rarity Notes

Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce compared to pure copper or brass versions. With 8 cataloged varieties, W.H. Brooks Jr. was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 290E-5d