(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-35A-2B, CT

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by E.W. Atwood, operating in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Connecticut was a major arms manufacturing center, with Colt in Hartford and Winchester in New Haven. Its merchants issued tokens alongside the munitions output. With 4 known varieties, E.W. Atwood produced a modest number of token types. This brass striking (Fuld 35A-2B) is common to somewhat scarce 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. 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 brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 4 cataloged varieties, E.W. Atwood was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 35A-2B