(1864) Silver Civil War Store Card F-700G-2fo, City Fruit Store RI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of City Fruit Store, located in Providence, Rhode Island. Providence was an important manufacturing center, particularly in textiles and jewelry. The city's merchants issued Civil War tokens to maintain daily commerce. City Fruit Store issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Silver examples were struck in small quantities, often for collectors or as special orders. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

Rarity Notes

Silver strikings are considerably scarcer than base metal versions, typically produced in small quantities for collectors or as special presentation pieces. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 6 cataloged varieties, City Fruit Store was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 700G-2fo