(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-450G-8A, MI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$228 MS63BN 10-14-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

This Civil War token was issued by A. Gleason, operating in Hillsdale, Michigan. Michigan was a significant industrial state during the Civil War, with Detroit emerging as a major manufacturing center and merchants across the state producing tokens. A. Gleason issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 450G-8A) is common among the known varieties. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. 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 Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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 6 cataloged varieties, A. Gleason was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 450G-8A