(No Date) Copper Civil War Store Card F-650A-1a, J. McKain PA

Coin Details

Auction Record

$810 MS65 11-18-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

Civil War-era store card from J. McKain of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania was the Union's industrial heartland, with Philadelphia as a manufacturing center and Pittsburgh as an iron and steel producer. This copper striking (Fuld 650A-1a) is common among the known varieties. This undated piece entered commerce during the 1862-1864 period when millions of private tokens replaced vanished federal coinage. Each unique combination of obverse and reverse dies constitutes a separate Fuld catalog number, even when struck in the same metal. Between 1862 and 1864, Northern merchants produced millions of private tokens to compensate for the disappearance of federal coinage. Token production peaked in 1863 when the coin shortage was most acute, with die sinkers working around the clock to fill merchant orders.

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, J. McKain was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 650A-1a