(1864) Civil War Store Card F-131A/349Ab, b OUT COUNTR

Coin Details

Auction Record

$840 MS64 03-31-2021 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War token cataloged as Fuld 131A/349Ab, combining obverse die 131 — a portrait of Abraham Lincoln — with reverse die 349 bearing the inscription "OUR COUNTRY". A powerful assertion of national identity. Abraham Lincoln obverse dies are among the most valuable in the Civil War token series. Lincoln tokens command significant premiums for their combined political, historical, and numismatic significance. 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. The end of the token era came in 1864 when Congress authorized new small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of wartime monetary history.

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 4 cataloged varieties, /K-277b Mule Lincoln-4 Line Rev. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 131A/349Ab