(1864) Copper Civil War Store Card F-750L-1a, GW-672, Great Central Fair PA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$360 MS64BN 11-18-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

GW-672, Great Central Fair of Phila issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. With 3 known varieties, GW-672, Great Central Fair produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 750L-1a) is common for this merchant. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. 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 3 cataloged varieties, GW-672, Great Central Fair was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 750L-1a