(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-150AF-1B, IL

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Illinois, cataloged as Fuld 150AF-1B. Illinois was a critical Union state with Chicago rapidly becoming one of America's largest commercial centers, driving token production across the state. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 150AF-1B) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. The hoarding of federal coinage created an acute shortage of small change, prompting thousands of merchants to issue tokens as practical substitutes. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 1 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 150AF-1B