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

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by A. Lederer & Co., operating in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee's thriving German-American merchant community made it the center of Wisconsin's Civil War token production. With 4 known varieties, A. Lederer & Co. produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 510Y-1a) is common among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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 4 cataloged varieties, A. Lederer & Co. was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 510Y-1a