(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-370C-2A, MI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Grand Rapids, Michigan, cataloged as Fuld 370C-2A. Grand Rapids was a growing commercial center in western Michigan, famous for its furniture manufacturing and lumber industry. This copper striking (Fuld 370C-2A) is common among the known varieties. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. Civil War tokens circulated alongside postage currency, fractional currency notes, and encased postage stamps as substitutes for the federal coins that had disappeared from commercial channels. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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 4 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 370C-2A