(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-220A-3a, WV

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 220A-3a — store card of Bassett's, Gleneaston, West Virginia. West Virginia separated from Virginia in 1863 to remain in the Union. Its merchants produced tokens to address the coin shortage in the newly formed state. Bassett's issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 220A-3a) 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. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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 7 cataloged varieties, Bassett's was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 220A-3a