(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-220G-1a, T. Mason WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$312 MS65BN 10-14-2020 Heritage Auctions

Description

T. Mason of Wisconsin issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Wisconsin was a growing frontier state with Milwaukee as its largest commercial center, and its merchants issued tokens as practical solutions to the coin shortage. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 220G-1a) 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. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. 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 1 cataloged varieties, T. Mason was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 220G-1a