(1863) Copper-Nickel Civil War Store Card F-630A-1do, Atlantic Garden, Overstk on 1863 1C NY Cent NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$480 MS62 01-12-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Atlantic Garden, Overstk on 1863 1C NY Cent of New York issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. New York state generated the second-largest body of Civil War token issues, concentrated in New York City but extending to Albany, Troy, Buffalo, and smaller commercial centers. 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. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. The copper-nickel composition gave these tokens the closest resemblance to federal coinage of any metal variant.

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 7 cataloged varieties, Atlantic Garden, Overstk on 1863 1C NY Cent was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630A-1do