(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-105H-2A, NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$168 MS63BN 04-12-2023 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 105H-2A. New York was the nation's commercial capital, with New York City alone producing hundreds of store card varieties from Broadway retailers to waterfront wholesalers. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 105H-2A) is common for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 5 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 105H-2A