(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-115G-2a, C.F. Tuttle's MA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$690 MS64BN 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Merchant token from C.F. Tuttle's of Massachusetts, cataloged as Fuld 115G-2a. Massachusetts was a center of manufacturing and abolitionist sentiment, with Boston and surrounding cities contributing Civil War tokens as emergency currency. With 4 known varieties, C.F. Tuttle's produced a modest number of token types. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 115G-2a) is common for this merchant. Undated Civil War tokens like this one circulated alongside dated issues during the 1862-1864 period. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. The token era ended when Congress authorized new federal small-denomination currency and criminalized private token production in 1864. 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 4 cataloged varieties, C.F. Tuttle's was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 115G-2a