(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-550E-2B, IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Ligonier, Indiana, cataloged as Fuld 550E-2B. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. This brass striking (Fuld 550E-2B) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings. 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

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 5 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 550E-2B