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

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Detroit, Michigan, cataloged as Fuld 225CD-1A. Detroit was Michigan's largest city and a major manufacturing center, producing stoves, railroad equipment, and industrial goods for the Northern war effort. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 225CD-1A) is common for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. 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. Over 25 million Civil War tokens were produced before Congress ended private coinage in April 1864, making them the largest private coinage movement in American history.

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, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225CD-1A