(1863) German-Silver Civil War Store Card F-700A-3j, Arcade House RI

Coin Details

Description

Arcade House of Rhode Island issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Rhode Island was an important manufacturing center in textiles and jewelry, with Providence merchants issuing Civil War tokens for daily commerce. Arcade House issued 8 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This german-silver striking (Fuld 700A-3j) is scarce among the known varieties. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. The German silver alloy gives these tokens an attractive appearance that has made them popular with collectors. 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

German silver (a copper-nickel-zinc alloy) strikings are less common than copper or brass versions and are sought after for their distinctive silvery appearance. With 8 cataloged varieties, Arcade House was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 700A-3j