(1864) Brass Civil War Store Card F-71A/76b, Indian Heads

Coin Details

Description

Civil War token cataloged as Fuld 71A/76b, combining obverse die 71 — an Indian Head design modeled after Longacre's federal cent — with reverse die 76 bearing an Indian Head design. Indian Head obverse dies closely imitated James B. Longacre's federal cent design. By echoing the official design, these tokens blurred the line between private and government coinage. The brass composition produced a distinctive warm golden tone. Brass was sourced primarily from the Waterbury, Connecticut mills that supplied many Northern token manufacturers. Assigned to the Location Unknown section of the Fuld catalog because neither die carries a merchant's name, address, or city — indicating this was a patriotic rather than commercial issue. Dated 1864, near the end of the Civil War token era. The introduction of fractional currency and the Act of April 22, 1864 soon made private tokens obsolete.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 1 cataloged varieties, Indian Heads was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 71A/76b