(No Date) Brass Civil War Store Card F-950B-1b, John Lane IN

Coin Details

Description

Store card of John Lane in Indiana, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Hoosier merchants in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and smaller towns issued Civil War tokens reflecting Indiana's diverse commercial landscape. With 2 known varieties, John Lane produced a modest number of token types. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 950B-1b) 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. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 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 2 cataloged varieties, John Lane was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 950B-1b