(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-810A-1A, IN

Coin Details

Description

D. S. Gould of Rochester issued this token as emergency currency during the Civil War coin shortage. Hoosier merchants in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and smaller towns issued Civil War tokens reflecting Indiana's diverse commercial landscape. D. S. Gould issued 5 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. This copper striking (Fuld 810A-1A) is common among the known varieties. 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. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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 5 cataloged varieties, D. S. Gould was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 810A-1A