(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-660A-2A, IL

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from Ottawa, Illinois, cataloged as Fuld 660A-2A. Illinois was a critical Union state with Chicago rapidly becoming one of America's largest commercial centers, driving token production across the state. This copper striking (Fuld 660A-2A) is common among the known varieties. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. 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. 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

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

Cross References

Fuld 660A-2A