(No Date) Brass Civil War Store Card F-950A-4b, D. Carlile IN

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 950A-4b — store card of D. Carlile, Warsaw, Indiana. Hoosier merchants in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and smaller towns issued Civil War tokens reflecting Indiana's diverse commercial landscape. D. Carlile issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 950A-4b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. 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 6 cataloged varieties, D. Carlile was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 950A-4b