(No Date) Brass Civil War Store Card F-95A-1b, R.C. Culley IL

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 95A-1b — store card of R.C. Culley, Illinois. Illinois was a critical Union state with Chicago rapidly becoming one of America's largest commercial centers, driving token production across the state. This brass striking (Fuld 95A-1b) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 1 cataloged varieties, R.C. Culley was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 95A-1b