(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-10H-5A, NY

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 10H-5A. New York state generated the second-largest body of Civil War token issues, concentrated in New York City but extending to Albany, Troy, Buffalo, and smaller commercial centers. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 10H-5A) is common. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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 18 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 10H-5A