(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-330D-2a, WI

Coin Details

Description

Store card of Lyman Mowry & Co. in Kenosha, Wisconsin, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. 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. With 2 known varieties, Lyman Mowry & Co. produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 330D-2a) is common for this merchant. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. Die sinkers produced these tokens on hand-operated screw presses, often filling orders for multiple merchants simultaneously. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

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 2 cataloged varieties, Lyman Mowry & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 330D-2a