(1863) Silver Civil War Store Card F-345A-1fo, City of New York I.O.U. NY

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of City of New York I.O.U. in New York. 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 manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. Silver strikings are considerably scarcer than base metal versions, typically produced as presentation or collector pieces. 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

Silver strikings are considerably scarcer than base metal versions, typically produced in small quantities for collectors or as special presentation pieces. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 1 cataloged varieties, City of New York I.O.U. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 345A-1fo