(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-460P-1A, IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Roll & Smith of Indianapolis, Indiana. As Indiana's capital and a major railroad hub, Indianapolis was the center of the state's Civil War token production, with merchants using tokens as practical emergency currency. Roll & Smith issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 460P-1A) is common. Although undated, this token was produced during the 1862-1864 period when federal coins disappeared from commerce. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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, Roll & Smith was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 460P-1A