(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-95B-3A, IL

Coin Details

Description

Civil War-era store card from D. Ford, a Cairo, Illinois business. Illinois was a critical Union state with Chicago rapidly becoming one of America's largest commercial centers, driving token production across the state. D. Ford issued 7 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 95B-3A) is common for this merchant. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Congress banned private token issuance in April 1864, but before that, tokens like this one circulated freely as cent substitutes in Northern commerce. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

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, D. Ford was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 95B-3A