(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-550H-1A, IN

Coin Details

Description

E. Reeve, based in Ligonier, Indiana, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 2 known varieties, E. Reeve produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 550H-1A) is common for this merchant. Although undated, this token was produced during the 1862-1864 period when federal coins disappeared from commerce. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes.

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, E. Reeve was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 550H-1A