(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-185A-2a, WI

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 185A-2a — store card of C.W. Smith, East Troy, Wisconsin. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. The 12 cataloged varieties for C.W. Smith indicate a notable level of token production. This copper striking (Fuld 185A-2a) is common among the known varieties. Although undated, this token was produced during the 1862-1864 period when federal coins disappeared from commerce. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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 12 cataloged varieties, C.W. Smith was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 185A-2a