Civil War Token

J. W. Peirce of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

In 1862, due to the Civil War, the U.S. Mint began to cut minting of new coinage. In response to this, many stores created these as advertisements and, essentially, cash: Civil War Store Tokens. By 1864, the U.S. Congress not only banned these tokens, but they also made all private minting illegal.

I got this coin for a dollar in a box of coins a couple years ago. It's worth over $25 in this condition, according to sold listings.