(1863) Copper-Nickel Civil War Store Card F-40A-1do, Philip Bach MI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$552 MS63 06-07-2020 Heritage Auctions

Description

Fuld 40A-1do — store card of Philip Bach, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. The 13 cataloged varieties for Philip Bach indicate a notable level of token production. This piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. The hoarding of federal coinage created an acute shortage of small change, prompting thousands of merchants to issue tokens as practical substitutes. The copper-nickel composition gave these tokens the closest resemblance to federal coinage of any metal variant. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

Rarity Notes

Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce compared to pure copper or brass versions. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 13 cataloged varieties, Philip Bach was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 40A-1do