(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-510AA-4e, WI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from A. Miller & Co., a Milwaukee, Wisconsin business. Milwaukee was Wisconsin's largest city and a major brewing and manufacturing center, with its large German immigrant population strongly supporting the Union cause. The 14 cataloged varieties for A. Miller & Co. indicate a notable level of token production. The white metal composition of this variety (Fuld 510AA-4e) is 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. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. White metal strikings are less common than copper or brass and show more wear due to the soft alloy.

Rarity Notes

White metal (tin alloy) strikings are less common than copper or brass versions and tend to show more wear due to the softness of the alloy. With 14 cataloged varieties, A. Miller & Co. was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 510AA-4e