Civil War Token, New York, 1863
date: label: date made
content: 1863
label: associated date
content: 1863
notes: label: Description
content: Approximately one million pieces of Lindenmueller Currency were struck during the course of the Civil War Token’s short lifespan. Tokens were generally used for buying goods and fares on trains. Since Civil War Tokens could not be redeemed for U.S. currency, the system had inherent flaws. This was evident when New York’s Third Avenue Railroad requested that Lindenmueller redeem his tokens which they accepted as payment for fares. Lindenmueller laughingly declined to pay out the Third Avenue Railroad who then took their issue to the Federal Government. In 1864 Congress passed an act that forbade any private businesses or individuals to produce money. This act essentially shut down the production of Civil War Tokens.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York
label: associated place
content: United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: Civil War
label: See more items in
content: Coins, Currency and Medals
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2001.0009.0661
label: accession number
content: 2001.0009
label: catalog number
content: 2001.0009.0661
objectType: label: Object Name
content: token
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: copper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: .1 cm x 2.55 cm; 1/32 in x 1 in