(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-225-3DI, MI

Coin Details

Description

Detroit; Adderley/1069 of Michigan produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Michigan was a significant industrial state during the Civil War, with Detroit emerging as a major manufacturing center and merchants across the state producing tokens. The 19 cataloged varieties for Detroit; Adderley/1069 indicate a notable level of token production. Although undated, this token was produced during the 1862-1864 period when federal coins disappeared from commerce. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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 19 cataloged varieties, Detroit; Adderley/1069 was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225-3DI