(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-13D-2a, PA

Coin Details

Description

City Tea House, based in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. City Tea House issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 13D-2a) is common among the known varieties. Most Civil War store cards carry no date; this token was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage era. Die sinkers produced these tokens on hand-operated screw presses, often filling orders for multiple merchants simultaneously. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. 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 7 cataloged varieties, City Tea House was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 13D-2a