(1861-65) Brass Civil War Store Card F-780A-1bo, Holed Dunbar & Wolff OH

Coin Details

Description

Civil War store card issued by Holed Dunbar & Wolff of Ohio. The breadth of Ohio's Civil War token production reflects the state's diverse economy, from Cincinnati's river trade to Cleveland's Lake Erie shipping to interior manufacturing towns. This piece is an overstrike struck over a host coin, an 1863 Indian Head cent. Traces of the original design may be visible beneath the new impressions. The dies for merchant tokens were usually cut by professional engravers who could produce a complete set in a matter of days. Civil War tokens addressed a practical problem: the wartime disappearance of federal small change made daily transactions nearly impossible without private substitutes. Brass planchets were readily available to die sinkers, making this a relatively accessible metal variant for collectors. Surviving specimens are tangible artifacts of the wartime monetary crisis that affected every commercial transaction in the Northern states.

Rarity Notes

Brass strikings are among the more available metal variants, though typically less common than copper. Overstrike varieties are generally scarcer than tokens struck on blank planchets, as they required sourcing and re-striking existing coins. With 1 cataloged varieties, Holed Dunbar & Wolff was a limited producer of Civil War tokens.

Cross References

Fuld 780A-1bo