(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-430A-1A, IN

Coin Details

Description

Wm. Bickel of Huntington 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, Wm. Bickel produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 430A-1A) is common. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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, Wm. Bickel was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 430A-1A