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

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 370F-2A — store card of C. Kusterer, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Grand Rapids was a growing commercial center in western Michigan, famous for its furniture manufacturing and lumber industry. With 4 known varieties, C. Kusterer produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 370F-2A) is common for this merchant. 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 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 4 cataloged varieties, C. Kusterer was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 370F-2A