(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-510X-1a, WI

Coin Details

Description

Store card of Louis Kurz in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Milwaukee's thriving German-American merchant community made it the center of Wisconsin's Civil War token production. With 2 known varieties, Louis Kurz produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 510X-1a) is common. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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 2 cataloged varieties, Louis Kurz was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 510X-1a