(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-5B-3A, MI

Coin Details

Description

Store card of Buck & Farrar in Adrian, Michigan, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 4 known varieties, Buck & Farrar produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 5B-3A) is common for this merchant. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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 4 cataloged varieties, Buck & Farrar was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 5B-3A