(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-555A-1B, NJ

Coin Details

Description

Fuld 555A-1B — store card of J.L. Agens & Co, Newark, New Jersey. New Jersey was a vital industrial and transportation state, with Newark, Trenton, and Paterson as major manufacturing centers where merchants issued Civil War tokens. The 18 cataloged varieties for J.L. Agens & Co indicate a notable level of token production. This brass striking (Fuld 555A-1B) 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. 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. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 18 cataloged varieties, J.L. Agens & Co was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 555A-1B