(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-285-1A, IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Indiana, cataloged as Fuld 285-1A. Hoosier merchants in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and smaller towns issued Civil War tokens reflecting Indiana's diverse commercial landscape. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 285-1A) is common for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. 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. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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 1 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 285-1A