(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-350B-1A, IN

Coin Details

Description

Hascall, Alderman & Brown of Goshen issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 2 known varieties, Hascall, Alderman & Brown produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 350B-1A) is common among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. 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, Hascall, Alderman & Brown was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 350B-1A