(No Date) Brass Civil War Store Card F-555A-4b, J.L. Agens & Co. NJ

Coin Details

Auction Record

$192 MS62 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

J.L. Agens & Co of Newark issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. New Jersey was a vital industrial and transportation state, with Newark, Trenton, and Paterson as major manufacturing centers where merchants issued Civil War tokens. The 18 cataloged varieties for J.L. Agens & Co indicate a notable level of token production. This brass striking (Fuld 555A-4b) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Brass strikings are among the more available variants, though less common than copper.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 18 cataloged varieties, J.L. Agens & Co was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 555A-4b