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

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Geo. E. Curtis of 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. Geo. E. Curtis issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 225T-2A) is common for this merchant. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.

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, Geo. E. Curtis was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225T-2A