(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-13C-3b, PA

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Allegheny, Pennsylvania, cataloged as Fuld 13C-3b. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. This brass striking (Fuld 13C-3b) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 5 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 13C-3b