(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-620P-2b, WI

Coin Details

Description

Store card of Wm. L. Williams in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. 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 brass composition of this variety (Fuld 620P-2b) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Federal coinage vanished from circulation after 1861 as citizens hoarded silver and copper for their metal value, leaving merchants to fill the void with tokens. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 4 cataloged varieties, Wm. L. Williams was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 620P-2b