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

Coin Details

Description

Mather & Shefferly, 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. Mather & Shefferly issued 8 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 225AX-2A) is common among the known varieties. Most Civil War store cards carry no date; this token was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage era. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. 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 8 cataloged varieties, Mather & Shefferly was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225AX-2A