It is estimated that by 1864, there were 25,000,000 Civil War tokens (nearly all redeemable for one cent) in circulation, consisting of approximately 7,000–8,000 varieties. New York issues followed in the spring of 1863, first with Lindenmueller currency store card tokens issued by New York City barkeep Gustavus Lindenmueller and then with Knickerbocker currency patriotic tokens issued by William H.
The first of these privately minted tokens appeared in the autumn of 1862, by H.
In response, many merchants turned to private minters to fill the void left by the hoarded coins. This made it extremely difficult for businesses to conduct transactions. American citizens hoarded all coins with gold and silver, and eventually began hoarding copper-nickel cents as well. The collectible value of the tokens is determined chiefly by their rarity.īy 1862, the second year of the Civil War, government-issued coinage began vanishing from circulation. All three types were utilized as currency, and are differentiated by their designs. Ĭivil War tokens are divided into three types-store cards, patriotic tokens, and sutler tokens. On June 8, 1864, an additional law was passed that forbade all private coinage. The widespread use of the tokens was a result of the scarcity of government-issued cents during the Civil War.Ĭivil War tokens became illegal after the United States Congress passed a law on April 22, 1864, prohibiting the issue of any one or two-cent coins, tokens or devices for use as currency. They were used mainly in the Northeast and Midwest. Privately minted token coins Civil War store cardĬivil War tokens are token coins that were privately minted and distributed in the United States between 18.
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