(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-5A-1a, Allegre & Wroughton IN

Coin Details

Description

Allegre & Wroughton of Indiana issued this Civil War store card during the 1862-1864 coin shortage. Hoosier merchants in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and smaller towns issued Civil War tokens reflecting Indiana's diverse commercial landscape. Struck in copper, this die combination (Fuld 5A-1a) is common. Civil War tokens rarely bear dates. This piece was struck during the 1862-1864 coin shortage, when merchants needed emergency small change. 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 1 cataloged varieties, Allegre & Wroughton was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 5A-1a