(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-225AG-5A, MI

Coin Details

Description

F. Gies & Bro's of Michigan issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. F. Gies & Bro's issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 225AG-5A) is common. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. 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. 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 6 cataloged varieties, F. Gies & Bro's was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225AG-5A