(1864) Brass Civil War Store Card F-880A-1b, D.H. Haines & Bro. IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from D.H. Haines & Bro., a Swan, Indiana business. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 2 known varieties, D.H. Haines & Bro. produced a modest number of token types. This brass striking (Fuld 880A-1b) is common to somewhat 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. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. Brass tokens are moderately available, with their yellowish color distinguishing them from the standard copper issues. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 2 cataloged varieties, D.H. Haines & Bro. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 880A-1b