(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-690B-3a, TN

Coin Details

Description

Store card of Harris & Pearl in Nashville, Tennessee, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Nashville fell to Union forces in February 1862 and served as a critical supply base for the remainder of the war. Merchant tokens from Nashville date to the Union occupation period. Harris & Pearl issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 690B-3a) is common for this merchant. 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. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Token production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute, with die sinkers working around the clock to fill merchant orders.

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 7 cataloged varieties, Harris & Pearl was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 690B-3a