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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Larry Moran, post: 562900, member: 4580&quot;]<b>Correction... Oopus #47</b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I did some checking and found this article on WIkipedia which refreshed my memory, and it appears you were correct, Collector1966:</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;One of the best-known and commonly struck types were store cards known as &#039;Lindenmueller tokens,&#039; named for New York barkeep Gustavus Lindenmueller. In 1863, Lindenmueller had more than one million of his one-cent tokens struck and placed into circulation. One of the common uses for the token was for streetcar fare. The Third Avenue Railroad company of New York, which had willingly accepted a large quantity of the Lindenmueller tokens in lieu of actual currency, asked Lindenmueller to redeem them. He refused, and the railroad had no legal recourse. Incidents such as these eventually forced the government to intervene.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;On April 22, 1864, Congress enacted the Coinage Act of 1864. While the act is most remembered for the introduction of the phrase &quot;In God We Trust&quot; on the newly created two-cent piece, it also effectively ended the usage of Civil War tokens. In addition to authorizing the minting of the two-cent piece, the act changed the composition of the one-cent piece from a copper-nickel alloy (weighing 4.67 grams) to a lighter, less thick piece composed of 95% copper (weighing 3.11 grams). The new one-cent piece was much closer in weight to the Civil War tokens, and found greater acceptance among the public.</p><p><br /></p><p>&quot;While the Coinage Act made Civil War tokens impractical, the issue of their legality was decided on June 8, 1864, when Congress enacted 18 U.S.C. § 486, which made the minting and usage of non-government issued coins punishable by a fine of up to $2,000, a prison term of up to five years, or both. (Chapter 25 of Title 18 deals specifically with counterfeit and forgery). It did not make it illegal to own Civil War tokens, however, and evidence exists that the tokens were viewed as collectibles as early as 1863, when the first known listings of Civil War tokens were published.&quot;[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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