(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-920G-1b, WI

Coin Details

Description

Civil War merchant token bearing the name of W.C. Fountain, located in Watertown, Wisconsin. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. With 4 known varieties, W.C. Fountain produced a modest number of token types. Struck in brass, this die combination (Fuld 920G-1b) is common to somewhat scarce. Most Civil War store cards carry no date; this token was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage era. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Brass was the second most common planchet material after copper, giving tokens a golden appearance.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. With 4 cataloged varieties, W.C. Fountain was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 920G-1b