(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-510AJ-2a, WI

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from Severn & Jones of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, cataloged as Fuld 510AJ-2a. 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 3 known varieties, Severn & Jones produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 510AJ-2a) is common among the known varieties. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. 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. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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 3 cataloged varieties, Severn & Jones was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 510AJ-2a