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

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of R.C. Graves, located in Wheeling, West Virginia. 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 brass composition of this variety (Fuld 890D-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. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. 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 7 cataloged varieties, R.C. Graves was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 890D-3b