(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-870A-3A, IN

Coin Details

Description

Price Brothers, based in Sullivan, Indiana, produced this token as a cent substitute during the wartime coin shortage. Indiana was an important agricultural and manufacturing state, with merchants producing store cards as emergency currency when federal coinage was hoarded. Price Brothers issued 6 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 870A-3A) is common. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Die sinkers offered merchants a choice of metals, with copper being cheapest and most common, while silver and gold were struck for collectors. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. The Fuld catalog documents thousands of distinct die combinations for Civil War store cards, making this one of the most complex series in American numismatics.

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 6 cataloged varieties, Price Brothers was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 870A-3A