(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-260A-5A, IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of Wm. Brooks, located in Elkhart, Indiana. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. Wm. Brooks issued 5 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 260A-5A) is common for this merchant. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. George and Melvin Fuld's catalog remains the standard reference for Civil War tokens, with each variety assigned a unique identification number.

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 5 cataloged varieties, Wm. Brooks was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 260A-5A