(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-25B-2A, MI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Comstock & Bro. of Albion, Michigan. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 3 known varieties, Comstock & Bro. produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 25B-2A) is common for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

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 3 cataloged varieties, Comstock & Bro. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 25B-2A