(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-250C-1b, WI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Green Bay, Wisconsin, cataloged as Fuld 250C-1b. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. This brass striking (Fuld 250C-1b) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Brass strikings are among the more available variants, though less common than copper. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 1 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 250C-1b