(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-220A-1a, John Engel NJ

Coin Details

Description

This Civil War token was issued by John Engel, operating in Elizabeth, New Jersey. New Jersey was a vital industrial and transportation state, with Newark, Trenton, and Paterson as major manufacturing centers where merchants issued Civil War tokens. John Engel issued 5 die varieties, more than most Civil War merchants. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 220A-1a) is common for this merchant. Like the majority of Civil War store cards, this token is undated, produced during the acute 1862-1864 small change crisis. Token manufacturers struck pieces by the thousands, using hand-fed screw presses capable of producing several hundred tokens per hour. Private tokens entered circulation after the suspension of specie payments in late 1861 drained small change from commerce. Collectors classify Civil War tokens by the Fuld numbering system, which catalogs each unique die combination with rarity ratings from R-1 (over 5,000 known) to R-10 (unique).

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 5 cataloged varieties, John Engel was a minor token issuer.

Cross References

Fuld 220A-1a