(No Date) Brass Civil War Store Card F-630BG-4b, John Quinn NY

Coin Details

Description

John Quinn of New York issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War. John Quinn operated a grocery store at the corner of 26th Street and Lexington Avenue in New York City. His tokens feature the patriotic reverse inscription "MONEY MAKES THE MARE GO — GO IT BUTTONS" with imagery of a man walking with coins spilling from a bindle. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 630BG-4b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 31 cataloged varieties, John Quinn was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630BG-4b