(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-115D-3EP, MA

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Merriam & Co. of Boston, Massachusetts, cataloged as Fuld 115D-3EP. Massachusetts was a center of manufacturing and abolitionist sentiment, with Boston and surrounding cities contributing Civil War tokens as emergency currency. With 4 known varieties, Merriam & Co. produced a modest number of token types. 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. Over 25 million Civil War tokens were produced before Congress ended private coinage in April 1864, making them the largest private coinage movement in American history.

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 4 cataloged varieties, Merriam & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 115D-3EP