(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-145A-1I, IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Indiana, cataloged as Fuld 145A-1I. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. This zinc striking (Fuld 145A-1I) is scarce among the known varieties. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. 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. Zinc strikings are uncommon and prone to corrosion, making preserved examples desirable. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

Rarity Notes

Zinc strikings are relatively uncommon and prone to corrosion, making well-preserved examples particularly desirable. With 3 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 145A-1I