(No Date) Brass Civil War Store Card F-10A-1b, Walter & Smith IL

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 10A-1b — store card of Walter & Smith, Illinois. Illinois was a critical Union state with Chicago rapidly becoming one of America's largest commercial centers, driving token production across the state. With 2 known varieties, Walter & Smith produced a modest number of token types. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 10A-1b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 2 cataloged varieties, Walter & Smith was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 10A-1b