(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-890D-3a, WV

Coin Details

Description

Store card of R.C. Graves in Wheeling, West Virginia, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. West Virginia separated from Virginia in 1863 to remain in the Union. Its merchants produced tokens to address the coin shortage in the newly formed state. R.C. Graves issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 890D-3a) is common 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. 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 7 cataloged varieties, R.C. Graves was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 890D-3a