(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-630AR-2D, NY

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 630AR-2D. 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. This copper-nickel striking (Fuld 630AR-2D) is 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The copper-nickel composition gave these tokens the closest resemblance to federal coinage of any metal variant.

Rarity Notes

Copper-nickel strikings are moderately scarce compared to pure copper or brass versions. With 9 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630AR-2D