(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-775A-1B, IL

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from W.B. Castle of Illinois, cataloged as Fuld 775A-1B. Illinois was a critical Union state with Chicago rapidly becoming one of America's largest commercial centers, driving token production across the state. With 3 known varieties, W.B. Castle produced a modest number of token types. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 775A-1B) is common to somewhat scarce. 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. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Brass tokens are moderately available, with their yellowish color distinguishing them from the standard copper issues.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 3 cataloged varieties, W.B. Castle was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 775A-1B