(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-13E-3a, PA

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 13E-3a — store card of R. & W. Jenkinson, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. The 16 cataloged varieties for R. & W. Jenkinson indicate a notable level of token production. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 13E-3a) is common for this merchant. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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 16 cataloged varieties, R. & W. Jenkinson was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 13E-3a