(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-620A-4A, IN

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from W.W. Cotteral, P.M., a Middletown, Indiana business. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. W.W. Cotteral, P.M. issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 620A-4A) is common among the known varieties. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. 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 7 cataloged varieties, W.W. Cotteral, P.M. was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 620A-4A