(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-450H-2B, MI

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from E.C. Keating of Hillsdale, Michigan, cataloged as Fuld 450H-2B. 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. With 4 known varieties, E.C. Keating produced a modest number of token types. This brass striking (Fuld 450H-2B) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 4 cataloged varieties, E.C. Keating was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 450H-2B