(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-630BZ-5C, NY

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 630BZ-5C. New York was the nation's commercial capital, with New York City alone producing hundreds of store card varieties from Broadway retailers to waterfront wholesalers. Struck in nickel, this die combination (Fuld 630BZ-5C) is scarce. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. 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. Pure nickel pieces are harder to strike than copper, contributing to their relative scarcity. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

Rarity Notes

Nickel strikings are generally scarcer than copper or brass versions, as nickel was more expensive and harder to strike. With 25 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630BZ-5C