Civil War Store Card Token - D.L. Wing and Co. Union Flour Albany, New York

Dies 28570/28595

During the mid-1800's, Wing operated a produce depot, D.L. Wing’s Flour Store, at 125 Pier, adjacent to a busy NY dayboat pier. The business thrived for many years, but apparently went bust around 1859, losing Wing thousands of dollars. He relocated to Poughkeepsie. In 1873, the New Jersey court of appeals informed him that he was one of four heirs to six million dollars worth of property in Trenton (it was owned by his grandfather, Joel Wing). Without deeper research, it’s hard to say what became of Wing, although he was involved in some legal dispute between a financial holding company (possibly his) and a large railroad. Evidently he had some cash to play with.

Pictured is what’s known to numismatists as a civil war token. D.L. Wing’s issued eight separate "Union Flour" designs over the years, and they're considered common by today’s collectors. The government outlawed the minting and use of non-government coins in 1864.

Contributed by Al Quaglieri.