(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-20A-2A, IN

Coin Details

Auction Record

$100 MS64BN 10-14-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card from Anderson, Indiana, cataloged as Fuld 20A-2A. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 20A-2A) is common. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Die sinkers produced these tokens on hand-operated screw presses, often filling orders for multiple merchants simultaneously. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. The federal government's response to the coin shortage included issuing fractional currency in denominations as small as three cents, but these paper notes wore out quickly and were unpopular with merchants. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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 2 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 20A-2A