(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-225B0-1A, 1A MI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of 1A in Michigan. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. The Civil War token series provides one of the most comprehensive records of mid-nineteenth century American retail commerce, documenting businesses that left few other historical traces. Token production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute, with die sinkers working around the clock to fill merchant orders.

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 9 cataloged varieties, American Coffee Mills was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225B0-1A