(No Date) Civil War Store Card F-95D-2BO, NY

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card from New York, cataloged as Fuld 95D-2BO. New York was the nation's commercial capital, with New York City alone producing hundreds of store card varieties from Broadway retailers to waterfront wholesalers. This piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. Although undated, this token was produced during the 1862-1864 period when federal coins disappeared from commerce. Many Civil War tokens share common reverse dies, as die sinkers paired merchant-specific obverses with stock patriotic or advertising reverses. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Brass strikings are among the more available variants, though less common than copper.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 27 cataloged varieties, this merchant was a moderately active token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 95D-2BO