(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-630AQ-5G, NY

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 630AQ-5G. New York state generated the second-largest body of Civil War token issues, concentrated in New York City but extending to Albany, Troy, Buffalo, and smaller commercial centers. Struck in gold, this die combination (Fuld 630AQ-5G) is extremely rare. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Gold strikings are among the rarest metal variants, produced in tiny quantities for presentation purposes. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

Rarity Notes

Gold strikings of Civil War tokens are among the rarest of all metal variants, produced in tiny quantities for presentation purposes or the collector market. With 45 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a substantial producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 630AQ-5G