(1864) Copper Civil War Store Card F-500M-1a, J. Lants IN

Coin Details

Auction Record

$144 AU55BN 09-21-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

Merchant token from J. Lants of Kendallville, Indiana, cataloged as Fuld 500M-1a. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 500M-1a) is common. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, the U.S. Mint dramatically increased production of small-denomination coins, and the new bronze two-cent piece helped alleviate the shortage. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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, J. Lants was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 500M-1a