(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-225MA-4A, MI

Coin Details

Description

Campbell & Calnon, a Detroit merchant, issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 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. Campbell & Calnon issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 225MA-4A) is common. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. 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 7 cataloged varieties, Campbell & Calnon was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225MA-4A