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

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Detroit, Michigan, cataloged as Fuld 225C-2A. As Michigan's commercial hub, Detroit generated more Civil War token varieties than any other city in the state, reflecting its diverse merchant community. This copper striking (Fuld 225C-2A) is common among the known varieties. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225C-2A