(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-510A-1b, WI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from E. Aschermann & Co. of Wisconsin. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. E. Aschermann & Co. issued 5 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 510A-1b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. 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 5 cataloged varieties, E. Aschermann & Co. was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 510A-1b