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

Coin Details

Auction Record

$168 MS66BN 08-11-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 630CI-1A. 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. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 630CI-1A) is common for this merchant. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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 4 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 630CI-1A