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

Coin Details

Description

Wm. Eisenlord, based in Detroit, Michigan, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime 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. Wm. Eisenlord issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 225Z-1A) is common. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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 7 cataloged varieties, Wm. Eisenlord was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 225Z-1A