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

Coin Details

Auction Record

$529 MS63 11-16-2012 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War token cataloged as Fuld 131A/349Ae, combining obverse die 131 — a portrait of Abraham Lincoln — with reverse die 349 bearing the inscription "OUR COUNTRY". A powerful assertion of national identity. Lincoln's portrait on Civil War tokens transformed everyday commerce into a political statement. These dies are among the scarcest and most collected in the series. Without merchant identification on the dies, this token cannot be attributed to a specific issuer or location. Location Unknown store cards represent speculative die pairings produced for general circulation. Produced in 1864, the twilight of the Civil War token era. By year's end, new federal bronze cents and fractional currency had largely replaced private tokens in commerce. Token production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute. Americans had hoarded federal coins since the suspension of specie payments in December 1861.

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/349Ae