(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-830A-1A, IN

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by J.F. Johnson, operating in Seymour, Indiana. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. With 3 known varieties, J.F. Johnson produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 830A-1A) is common for this merchant. This undated token was struck circa 1862-1864 during the wartime coin shortage. Die sinkers produced these tokens on hand-operated screw presses, often filling orders for multiple merchants simultaneously. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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 3 cataloged varieties, J.F. Johnson was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 830A-1A