(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-700J-2a, WI

Coin Details

Description

Thelen & Dieterich, a Racine merchant, issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. With 2 known varieties, Thelen & Dieterich produced a modest number of token types. This copper striking (Fuld 700J-2a) is common among the known varieties. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Store cards circulated as emergency currency after wartime hoarding removed federal coins from commercial channels. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

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, Thelen & Dieterich was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 700J-2a