Intro to Civil War Tokens

(I wrote this entry for my website and eBay. Thought I'd share it here for anyone ready to dip their toes into the pool of Civil War tokens! All pictures are courtesy of PCGS and tokens are from my collection.)

One of my favorite areas of numismatics is the category of exonumia known as Civil War tokens, struck and used during the war (1861-1865). These pieces were struck privately, and although Southern states used them, they were much more common in the Midwest and Atlantic states of the Union. Like Hard Times tokens struck several decades earlier, Civil War tokens were a response to a shortage of specie in regular circulation during the war. Civil War tokens are classified in three major groups: patriotic tokens, store cards, and sutler tokens.

​

Patriotic tokens featured imagery and slogans that were patriotic in nature. Southern patriotic tokens are all but unheard of, so most of this type support the Union. This group of tokens is cataloged extensively in Patriotic Civil War Tokens by George and Melvin Fuld, in its fifth edition.

​

Store cards were struck for businesses to use during the war. This type featured advertising information for the business. Although some store cards featured personalized information on both sides, many used a stock die on one side and a personalized die on the other. This allows collectors to identify the die sinker used by the stock die used. This group of tokens is cataloged in U.S. Civil War Storecards, also by the brothers Fuld, in its third edition featuring full color photos.

​

Sutler tokens are a unique class of Civil War tokens. These were issued by sutlers to be used by the enlisted men, and featured the regiment and often the sutler’s name. Due to the nature of these issues, the general survival rate of these tokens is much lower than the other two groups, and as such these are often more expensive. Sutler tokens are cataloged in Civil War Sutler Tokens & Cardboard Scrip by David Schenkman, in its second edition.

There are into the tens of thousands of individual varieties of Civil War tokens, offering the numismatist many challenging ways to collect. One collector may choose to collect tokens from their city or state, while another may focus on a particular die sinker. The variety of imagery and subject matter used also offers a challenge: perhaps you choose to collect tokens featuring boots, locks, stoves, or animal images (all of these are most certainly available!). Another choice may be to collect tokens issued by a certain type of business, such as breweries or the die sinkers themselves. Some collectors may even seek out those struck in a particular material, such as silver or hard rubber.

Civil War tokens can be an affordable way to collect an important piece of history. In circulated condition, common varieties can be found for less than $20. Even mint state examples can be tracked down for less than $100. Less common types can become expensive, and the rarest examples can trade for thousands of dollars. As with any aspect of numismatics, do some research first by checking auction records and sale histories to determine the value of the piece you decide to buy – rarity ratings may not always be a firm indicator of price or value.

Speaking of rarity, the Fuld brothers developed a rarity scale for use with Civil War tokens, based on a survival of approximately one million tokens. This scale ranges from R-1 (very common, 5000+) to R-10 (unique, 1). Again, a common token may be expensive and a rare token may be affordable based on the current market and demand for the type.

Interested in learning more? I recommend the three guides already listed above. There are several other guides of a more general nature available, including The Civil War Token Collectors Guide by Bryon Kanzinger which explores town rarity and offers some pricing information. The Whitman Guidebook of Civil War Tokens by Q. David Bowers is another great guide, and may be the best place to start for someone just getting their toes wet with Civil War tokens. Additionally, the Civil War Token Society (www.cwtsociety.com) is a wonderful group to join if this section of numismatics catches your fancy!

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Very nice!

 

I enjoy them as well and your information was a great insight for me. Thank you.

 

Excellent intro; makes for a wonderful teaser which I suspect was your intent.

I Reported this post, but not for the reasons we usually Report posts. The front page needs fresh content.

 

Thanks Dave! You had me scared there...

 

One comment, you might want to explain what a sutler was. I'm sure many people first running across this may not know. It is not a commonly encountered word.

 

sut·ler /ˈsətlər/
noun
historical

1. a person who followed an army and sold provisions to the soldiers.

(so no one else needs to Google it like I did...)

 

This. [emoji6] Thanks for helping!

 

Cool write-up. I have a few patriotics and hope to spend more time (and money?) on this intriguing area at some point.

 

Nice write up, I will suggest that the Fulds were not brothers but father and son. Melvin ( the father) became interested in CWT's via his son Dr. George Fuld. Here is a link to the Coin World piece published announcing the passing of Dr. George Fuld.

http://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2013/10/dr-george-j-fuld-pioneer-in-civil-war-token-r.html#

 

You're absolutely right. And I knew this too... Will change on the various sites. Thanks for the reminder!

 

No problem jester...

One of my favorite store cards, due to the provenance.

 

Nice write up , I've been collecting Patriotics for a few years now and find it a most interesting look into the times of the Civil War . Also like you said it's great when you can pick up a MS example with only 100 or less left in existence for a couple hundred dollars .

 

i've put one of these on my "to get list", thanks for the write up!

 

Great introduction! Back when I started to buy for the purpose of re-selling to fund my own collection, i purchased an Army AND Navy token in a lot. I hadn't really looked in to these, but knew what it was. I sold it, and now I cry every time I think about it. One of those things you look back on and say "why did you do that?!"

Anyway, thanks for writing this up.

I'm sure the Redbook probably covers this, but my curiosity is piqued so I'll ask for the sake of discussion. How was this system profitable for a store owner or a sutler...Did, say the Army, buy bulk tokens from the sutlers, at a discount, then pay soldiers in sutler tokens, who then spent them with the sutlers at an assigned value lower than what they where purchased for? How was value figured for these.

 

Sutler tokens were stamped with a denomination in most cases. I suspect the tokens were struck at a significant discount and issued by the sutler himself. This was how most Civil War tokens circulated. Perhaps the sutler acted as a nineteenth century check cashing shop, trading soldiers their pay vouchers for provisions and gave change in the tokens and associated scrip. Just thinking out loud... [emoji2]

 

In the case of the merchant tokens they were purchased from the manufacturers at a rate of about $7 to $8 per thousand, sometimes less. Passing them as change resulted in a $2 to $3 profit. Any that were not returned for redemption represented pure profit. In the case of the sutlers they also purchased the tokens at around the same rates but many of their were denominated at higher than one cent. Again they would be used as change, but the sutlers had an advantage, a significant percentage were never be redeemed because they were lost on the battlefield, About the only deals made between the sutlers and the army was that sometimes the sutlers rather than using tokens would extend the soldiers credit and collect what the soldier owed from the paymaster on payday. The soldier would get what was left. This tended to leave the soldier short on funds and he would have no choice but to go back into debt with the sutler. (If the soldier died the sutler still had a claim on any money owed to him by the army.) And the sutlers prices were often higher than what they would be from a regular store.

 

Thanks for posting this. I haven't taken much of an interest in these, but I know they're out there. My father gave me two store cards, which are sitting in my collection, and I had someone else identify them for me. One of these days I'll pick up Fulds and the other books just to add to my numismatic library.

 

So I found a unique war token just wondering how much its worth and how rare its a 1863 indian head on reverse its says not one cent then has a address of 243 something st. Is this a coin worth investigating its value??

 

Post some pictures and I'll look it up for you.