(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-13E-4a, R. & W. Jenkinson PA

Coin Details

Description

Merchant token from R. & W. Jenkinson of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, cataloged as Fuld 13E-4a. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. The 16 cataloged varieties for R. & W. Jenkinson indicate a notable level of token production. This copper striking (Fuld 13E-4a) is common among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Professional die sinkers like John Stanton, Benjamin True, and William Bridgens supplied dies to merchants across the Northern states. 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 16 cataloged varieties, R. & W. Jenkinson was a notable token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 13E-4a