(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-180A-3a, TN

Coin Details

Description

N.O. Underwood, based in Dedham, Tennessee, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Tennessee was divided during the Civil War. Nashville fell to Union forces in 1862, and merchants in Union-controlled areas issued tokens as emergency small change. N.O. Underwood issued 5 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 180A-3a) is common for this merchant. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily 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 5 cataloged varieties, N.O. Underwood was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 180A-3a