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

Coin Details

Description

J. Scheidhauer, a Milwaukee merchant, issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Milwaukee was Wisconsin's largest city and a major brewing and manufacturing center, with its large German immigrant population strongly supporting the Union cause. With 2 known varieties, J. Scheidhauer produced a modest number of token types. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 510AH-1b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Most Civil War store cards carry no date; this token was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage era. 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 2 cataloged varieties, J. Scheidhauer was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 510AH-1b