(1864) Civil War Store Card F-235A-1a, Genesee Station WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$2,400 AU Details 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Genesee Station, a Genesee merchant, issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 235A-1a) is common. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Token production during the Civil War represented the largest private coinage movement in American history, with an estimated 25 million pieces struck between 1862 and 1864. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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, Genesee Station was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 235A-1a