(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-630CC-1A, NY

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 630CC-1A. 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. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 630CC-1A) is common 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. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

Rarity Notes

Copper strikings are generally the most common metal variant for Civil War store cards, as copper was the standard planchet material mimicking the federal cent. With 8 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 630CC-1A