Knickerbocker Civil War Token - I-O-U One Cent, Pure Copper - Higher Grade - Merchant CWT

This listing is for the photographed Civil War Token. During the Civil War, Americans began hoarding coins, especially copper and silver. This created a serious shortage of small change. Merchants responded by producing store cards and tokens that could circulate as one-cent pieces. These were commonly struck in 1863–64 and were eventually suppressed when the U.S. government introduced its own small-denomination token coinage. Alden & Frink were merchants operating in Cohoes, New York, an important industrial city in the Mohawk River valley. Their token effectively served as advertising and as emergency small change during the coin shortage.

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