(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-115G-4a, C.F. Tuttle's MA

Coin Details

Description

Store card of C.F. Tuttle's in Massachusetts, struck during the 1862-1864 token era. 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-4a) is common for this merchant. The absence of a date on this token is standard for the 1862-1864 era, when speed of production mattered more than formality. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. The Civil War small change crisis generated the largest private coinage movement in American history, with merchants and die sinkers producing tokens for circulation. Many Civil War tokens survive in high grades because merchants and the public saved them as novelties, resulting in a better average preservation than contemporary federal coins.

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-4a