(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-620P-1a, WI

Coin Details

Description

Wm. L. Williams of Oshkosh issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. With 4 known varieties, Wm. L. Williams produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 620P-1a) is common for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Over 25 million Civil War tokens were produced before Congress ended private coinage in April 1864, making them the largest private coinage movement in American history.

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. L. Williams was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 620P-1a