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

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of S. Cohen, located in Detroit, Michigan. Detroit was Michigan's largest city and a major manufacturing center, producing stoves, railroad equipment, and industrial goods for the Northern war effort. S. Cohen issued 8 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 225Q-2A) is common among the known varieties. 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

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, S. Cohen was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225Q-2A