(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-860G-3A, IN

Coin Details

Description

George Wyman of South Bend 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. George Wyman issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 860G-3A) is common. 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. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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 7 cataloged varieties, George Wyman was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 860G-3A