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

Coin Details

Description

Remington & Bennett, based in Adrian, Michigan, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. With 4 known varieties, Remington & Bennett produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 5D-3A) is common among the known varieties. The absence of a date is typical for Civil War tokens produced during the 1862-1864 emergency currency period. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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, Remington & Bennett was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 5D-3A