(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-150AI-2A, IL

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Kendall's Sons & Co, located in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago was one of the fastest-growing cities in the world by 1860, rapidly becoming America's railroad hub and grain trading center with a population of 112,000. Kendall's Sons & Co issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 150AI-2A) is common for this merchant. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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 6 cataloged varieties, Kendall's Sons & Co was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 150AI-2A