(1864) Copper Civil War Store Card F-472A-1a, Ellsworth & Halsey IL

Coin Details

Auction Record

$240 XF45BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card issued by Ellsworth & Halsey of Lacon, Illinois. Illinois was a critical Union state with Chicago rapidly becoming one of America's largest commercial centers, driving token production across the state. Ellsworth & Halsey issued 5 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 472A-1a) is common. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Merchants in border states faced particular challenges during the coin shortage, as economic uncertainty and military activity disrupted normal commercial patterns more severely than in the interior. 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 5 cataloged varieties, Ellsworth & Halsey was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 472A-1a