(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-630A-10B, IN

Coin Details

Description

Store card of H.D. Higgins in Mishawaka, Indiana, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. H.D. Higgins operated as a jeweler and optician in Mishawaka, Indiana, but he was also a die-sinker who produced dies for numerous Civil War tokens, including a group known as "Indiana Primitives" characterized by their crude, folk-art style. Higgins represents the intersection of merchant and manufacturer in the CW token world. This brass striking (Fuld 630A-10B) is common to somewhat scarce among the known varieties. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 19 cataloged varieties, H.D. Higgins was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630A-10B