(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-600D-3a, TN

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from . McDonald of Memphis, Tennessee, cataloged as Fuld 600D-3a. Tennessee was divided during the Civil War. Nashville fell to Union forces in 1862, and merchants in Union-controlled areas issued tokens as emergency small change. . McDonald issued 8 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 600D-3a) is common among the known varieties. 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. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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 8 cataloged varieties, . McDonald was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 600D-3a