(1864) Copper Civil War Store Card F-450A-1a, D. Campbell WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$168 XF Details 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card issued by D. Campbell of Mauston, Wisconsin. 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. This copper striking (Fuld 450A-1a) is common among the known varieties. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Many Civil War tokens were produced in quantities far exceeding actual commercial need, as die sinkers and merchants recognized the speculative collecting interest that was already developing. 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 1 cataloged varieties, D. Campbell was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 450A-1a