(1864) White Metal Civil War Store Card F-750R-1e, G.A. Schwarz PA

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by G.A. Schwarz of Phila, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. The white metal composition of this variety (Fuld 750R-1e) is somewhat scarce for this merchant. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. White metal strikings are less common than copper or brass and show more wear due to the soft alloy. 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

White metal (tin alloy) strikings are less common than copper or brass versions and tend to show more wear due to the softness of the alloy. With 1 cataloged varieties, G.A. Schwarz was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 750R-1e