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

Coin Details

Description

Charles Kolb, based in Newark, New Jersey, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. New Jersey was a vital industrial and transportation state, with Newark, Trenton, and Paterson as major manufacturing centers where merchants issued Civil War tokens. Charles Kolb issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 555B-1B) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. 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.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 7 cataloged varieties, Charles Kolb was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 555B-1B