(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-527D-1B, MI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by J.S. Lewis of Jonesville, Michigan. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 3 known varieties, J.S. Lewis produced a modest number of token types. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 527D-1B) is common to somewhat scarce. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. 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 3 cataloged varieties, J.S. Lewis was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 527D-1B