(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-225AQ-2A, MI

Coin Details

Description

Edward Kanter, 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. Edward Kanter issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 225AQ-2A) is common among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes.

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, Edward Kanter was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225AQ-2A