(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-890B-3B, NY

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 890B-3B. New York state generated the second-largest body of Civil War token issues, concentrated in New York City but extending to Albany, Troy, Buffalo, and smaller commercial centers. The brass composition of this variety (Fuld 890B-3B) is common to somewhat scarce for this merchant. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. The brass composition gives this token a warm golden tone that contrasts with the reddish-brown of copper strikings.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 42 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a substantial producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 890B-3B