(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-550K-2A, IN

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 550K-2A — store card of J.C. Zimmerman, Ligonier, Indiana. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 3 known varieties, J.C. Zimmerman produced a modest number of token types. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 550K-2A) is common. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. 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. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

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 3 cataloged varieties, J.C. Zimmerman was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 550K-2A