(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-225AF-1B, MI

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 225AF-1B — store card of F. Geiss & Bro's, Michigan. 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 11 cataloged varieties for F. Geiss & Bro's indicate a notable level of token production. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 225AF-1B) is common to somewhat scarce 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. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 11 cataloged varieties, F. Geiss & Bro's was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225AF-1B