(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-220M-1a, T.S. Wright WI

Coin Details

Auction Record

$168 MS63BN 10-14-2020 Heritage Auctions

Description

Civil War-era store card from T.S. Wright of Wisconsin. 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. This copper striking (Fuld 220M-1a) is common among the known varieties. Most Civil War store cards carry no date; this token was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage era. The token trade was competitive, with die sinkers in New York, Cincinnati, and other cities vying for merchant orders across the region. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. The cent-sized format was chosen deliberately to match the federal Indian Head cent, the coin most conspicuously absent from daily commerce.

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.S. Wright was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 220M-1a