(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-920B5, A MI

Coin Details

Description

Store card of A in Michigan, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. Michigan's merchants across numerous cities actively produced tokens to combat the small change shortage affecting Northern commerce. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. Merchants typically ordered tokens from die-sinkers who maintained inventories of patriotic and advertising dies for rapid production. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Token production during the Civil War represented the largest private coinage movement in American history, with an estimated 25 million pieces struck between 1862 and 1864. After Congress banned private coinage in 1864, surviving tokens became instant collectibles, with serious collecting beginning within a decade of the war's end.

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 5 cataloged varieties, Dr. E. Hause was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 920B5