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

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Detroit, Michigan, cataloged as Fuld 225AM-1A. Detroit was Michigan's largest city and a major manufacturing center, producing stoves, railroad equipment, and industrial goods for the Northern war effort. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 225AM-1A) is common. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. The federal government's response to the coin shortage included issuing fractional currency in denominations as small as three cents, but these paper notes wore out quickly and were unpopular with merchants. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225AM-1A