(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-40B-1DO, MI

Coin Details

Description

Dean & Co. of Ann Arbor issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. The 17 cataloged varieties for Dean & Co. indicate a notable level of token production. This piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. The copper-nickel composition gave these tokens the closest resemblance to federal coinage of any metal variant.

Rarity Notes

Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce compared to pure copper or brass versions. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 17 cataloged varieties, Dean & Co. was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 40B-1DO