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

Coin Details

Description

Kendall's Sons & Co, a Chicago merchant, issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Chicago's explosive growth as a railroad and commodity trading center made it Illinois' primary source of Civil War store cards. Kendall's Sons & Co issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 150AI-1B) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Brass strikings are among the more available variants, though less common than copper. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 6 cataloged varieties, Kendall's Sons & Co was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 150AI-1B