(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-480G-2B, MI

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Tubbs & Spear of Hudson, Michigan, cataloged as Fuld 480G-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 3 known varieties, Tubbs & Spear produced a modest number of token types. This brass striking (Fuld 480G-2B) is common to somewhat scarce 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. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Brass tokens are moderately available, with their yellowish color distinguishing them from the standard copper issues.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 3 cataloged varieties, Tubbs & Spear was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 480G-2B