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

Coin Details

Description

Wm. S. Wicox, based in Adrian, Michigan, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Michigan was a significant industrial state during the Civil War, with Detroit emerging as a major manufacturing center and merchants across the state producing tokens. With 4 known varieties, Wm. S. Wicox produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 5F-3A) is common 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 Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation.

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, Wm. S. Wicox was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 5F-3A