(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-225AC-1A, MI

Coin Details

Description

L.S. Freeman, based in Detroit, Michigan, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Detroit was Michigan's largest city and a major manufacturing center, producing stoves, railroad equipment, and industrial goods for the Northern war effort. L.S. Freeman issued 9 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 225AC-1A) is common for this merchant. 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. 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 Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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 9 cataloged varieties, L.S. Freeman was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225AC-1A