(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-630BT-1a, St. Charles Billiard Rooms NY

Coin Details

Auction Record

$150 MS64BN 03-17-2019 eBay

Description

This Civil War token was issued by St. Charles Billiard Rooms in New York. New York was the nation's commercial capital, with New York City alone producing hundreds of store card varieties from Broadway retailers to waterfront wholesalers. The copper composition of this variety (Fuld 630BT-1a) is common for this merchant. No date appears on this token, consistent with the rapid production practices of the 1862-1864 Civil War token boom. Token production was a specialized trade — die sinkers maintained catalogs of stock dies that merchants could pair with custom obverses. Merchant-issued tokens circulated as substitutes for scarce federal coinage throughout the Northern states between 1862 and 1864. Civil War store cards are collected both as numismatic items and as historical documents of wartime American commerce.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 4 cataloged varieties, St. Charles Billiard Rooms was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 630BT-1a