(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-25B-3A, MI

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 25B-3A — store card of Comstock & Bro., Albion, Michigan. Michigan was a significant industrial state during the Civil War, with Detroit emerging as a major manufacturing center and merchants across the state producing tokens. With 3 known varieties, Comstock & Bro. produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 25B-3A) is common. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. 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 3 cataloged varieties, Comstock & Bro. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 25B-3A