(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-150AI-3BI, IL

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Kendall's Sons & Co of 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. 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. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

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-3BI