(1864) Copper Civil War Store Card F-230A-1a, R.K. Carter IN

Coin Details

Auction Record

$168 AU53BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Store card of R.K. Carter in Danville, Indiana, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 4 known varieties, R.K. Carter produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 230A-1a) is common. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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, R.K. Carter was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 230A-1a